France Waits c. 1914 - 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made "France Waits," probably with watercolor and pencil, and it feels like a quick thought, a gesture. The marks are so economical, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment, or feeling. Look at the way the vertical lines of her dress are just enough to suggest form, but also disappear into the background. The colors are muted, somber even, except for that little pop of red in her hat – a tiny spark of hope? The paper itself becomes part of the image, its off-white tone setting a mood, acting like an atmosphere. And then there’s that heavy blob of gray at the bottom left, grounding the figure. It doesn’t quite make sense formally, but emotionally it’s perfect. Forain’s contemporary, Daumier, also used reductive means to great effect, and I guess both of them share a knack for capturing the feeling of a scene with incredible brevity. The beauty here lies in its ambiguity, in what’s left unsaid.