Details van Griekse vazen 1876 - 1951

Theo Nieuwenhuis made this watercolor sketch, "Details van Griekse vazen", at an unknown date, and it's now housed in the Rijksmuseum. I love how it captures these fragments, hints of ancient stories, in such a fluid way. The washes of color, the way the ink bleeds into the paper – it feels like Nieuwenhuis is not just copying but reinterpreting these forms. Look at the figure in the vase on the left; the silhouette is so bold, yet the details are suggested with the barest minimum of lines. The color palette is so subdued. It's like he's pulled these images from a dream. There's something about the unfinished quality of the sketch that makes it so compelling. It's like we're seeing the artist's thought process, his way of making, laid bare. It reminds me of Manet’s sketches, these fleeting glimpses of form and light. It’s like a conversation across time, an echo of one artist's vision resonating with another. Art never truly stands alone, right?