Studies van een zittende, naaiende vrouw 1915

Rik Wouters made this drawing of a woman sewing with ink on paper. The swift, sure lines capture two moments of a woman in repose. It's as if Wouters watched, waited, and then dashed these figures onto the page, so quick, like grabbing a thought before it disappears. I imagine Wouters being totally focused, his hand and eye dancing together. The ink, now thick and assertive, now thin and questioning, creates a rhythm, a beat. He may have wanted to distill the essence of quiet domesticity. Or maybe he just liked the shape the figure made, bent over her sewing. The varying pressure of the ink gives life to the image, pushing and pulling the eye. The empty space around the figures is just as important, letting them breathe, letting us fill in the gaps. You can feel Wouters' love for Bonnard and Manet in this sketch, that same joy in the everyday, that same delight in the simple act of looking. It’s like he's saying, "Hey, isn't this beautiful? Just look."