Aardappelschillende vrouw 1897 - 1928

Jan Toorop made this etching of a woman peeling potatoes, its date unknown. The composition is so still, so quiet. Can you imagine being Toorop, watching this woman, outside, peeling potatoes? Toorop draws her with such care, mapping out the scene with a network of lines. He doesn’t miss a trick, laying out every brick, every branch, every fold in the woman's dress. This scene feels so ordinary and real. I wonder, was he thinking about Van Gogh when he made it? I bet those two would have had a lot to say to each other about how to draw the life that's right in front of you. Toorop’s picture is a reminder that all art starts with looking, with really seeing what's there.