Le Bonheur du Jour ou Les Graces à la Mode: L'Arc-en-Ciel. 1920

Henri Reidel made this print, Le Bonheur du Jour ou Les Graces à la Mode: L'Arc-en-Ciel, with lithography. The flat planes of colour and delicate lines make me think about the relationship between printing and drawing. They’re kind of like opposites, no? In this scene of two women sheltering from the rain under a flowering tree, everything is rendered with the same level of detail. The falling rain is given just as much attention as the shape of the clouds or the rainbow, which looks flat and unyielding, in contrast to the rain that is falling through it. I love the marks that describe the leaves on the tree - little blobs of colour that feel both abstract and realistic at the same time. For me, this print evokes the work of Etel Adnan, with its sensitivity to colour, light, and form. Like Adnan, Reidel seems to have a deep appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Ultimately this feels like a very personal and evocative piece, one that invites us to contemplate the many ways in which we see and experience the world around us.