France Waits c. 1914 - 1919

Jean-Louis Forain made this drawing, probably with pencil and watercolor, and it feels like a quick study, a fleeting moment captured. Look at the vertical strokes that define the figure’s dress; you can almost feel Forain’s hand moving down the page. I wonder what he was thinking about when he made this, whether he was trying to capture a certain mood or sentiment. The woman, the ruins – they both convey a sense of stillness and contemplation. The washes of pale color make the whole thing feel kind of melancholic, don’t you think? You can see the influence of artists like Daumier in Forain’s work. They were all part of a conversation about how to represent modern life, especially the lives of ordinary people. I love how drawing and painting can do that: freeze a moment in time and open up a whole world of feeling and thought.