Woman with a Shawl 1916

Albert Belleroche made this lithograph, Woman with a Shawl, using a greasy crayon on a stone, then transferring that image to paper. I think it’s all about process, about how one mark leads to another, a dance of light and dark. Look at the way the shawl drapes, almost like a veil. See how Belleroche uses these soft, smudgy lines? It’s not about perfection; it’s about capturing a fleeting moment, a mood. The texture feels almost velvety, doesn’t it? Those vertical lines under the table edge feel really interesting, because he repeats them, almost like he's trying to describe the form, again and again. Belleroche’s work reminds me a bit of Whistler’s—that same interest in tonal harmonies, in the poetry of everyday life. Art isn’t about answers, it's about the questions that keep us looking, feeling, and thinking.