Dansende jongen en meisje in een stadspark of speeltuin 1888 - 1943

Felix Hess’s drawing of dancing children in a city park or playground, was made with pencil and watercolour, using delicate lines and a muted palette. It feels like a memory, softened by time. Look at the way the buildings in the background are rendered, almost dissolving into the sky. Hess uses a kind of hazy, impressionistic touch, but then brings it into focus with the sharp details of the children's faces and clothes. The texture is smooth, the colours are translucent washes, and the paper peeks through, adding to the ethereal quality. Note how the lightness in the children and the path reflects the gray buildings. This tension, between the ephemeral and the concrete, is what makes the work so compelling. It reminds me of the work of Käthe Kollwitz, not in style but in its emotional honesty. It is an image which invites us to reflect on our own childhood memories and experiences.