Kompositionsskitse efter "Sivfolk" 1929

Peter Rostrup Bøyesen made this sketch, "Kompositionsskitse efter "Sivfolk," with pencil and watercolor on paper. I love this little scene, with its soft greens, browns, and grays, all applied with such delicacy. I imagine Bøyesen outside, maybe on a slightly overcast day, quickly capturing what he sees. There's a figure in the foreground, and behind him, the barest hint of buildings and smokestacks. The paint is applied in thin washes, allowing the paper to show through in places, which gives the whole piece a sense of airiness and light. Look at the way he's used broken lines and varied pressure in the pencil strokes, and how the watercolor has pooled and bled in places, creating subtle textures and variations in tone. It makes me think of other artists who worked in a similar vein, like Manet, or even some of the early Impressionists. It all comes together in this gentle and fleeting impression of a moment in time. It's an open-ended conversation, and as a painter, I really appreciate this kind of quiet, understated approach.