Vrouw met een platte hoed 1874 - 1945

This is Carel Adolph Lion Cachet's 'Woman with a Flat Hat' at the Rijksmuseum. It's rendered in watercolor and pencil. I'm imagining Cachet in the studio, squinting at the model and trying to capture the essence of her being, not just her likeness. The thin washes of color, the way the forms emerge and recede—it feels like a dance between intention and accident, know what I mean? The way the watery blues and grays mingle, you get this sense of transience, like the subject is caught in a fleeting moment. That hat! It's like a burst of energy, a focal point that draws you in. And then there's the unfinished quality of the piece, the sketchy lines, the areas where the paper peeks through. It's like Cachet is inviting us to participate in the act of creation. It reminds you that art is always provisional, always in process, always open to interpretation.