Lezend meisje aan een tafel c. 1900 - 1930

Elly Verstijnen made this drawing of a reading girl at a table with ink on paper. I can imagine her making this picture – the precision and placement of the marks. I wonder if she was using a photograph or if she had someone in front of her. There's a lot of care in this drawing. I bet she was thinking about all the artists who had done this before, who had drawn women, and who had captured women reading, thinking, reflecting, and writing. She’s participating in this long conversation, but she’s also doing her own thing. And this is what art-making is all about, right? We carry on the traditions of the past, but we also bring our own weird selves to the table. We see the world from a unique angle, and that's why we make art.