Venster met gordijnen c. 1895 - 1910

This image of a window with curtains by Léon Laroche is so delicate. I imagine the artist carefully layering the pale blue washes, trying to capture the exact weight and fall of the fabric. You can see each brushstroke, each decision, building up the form bit by bit. I bet Laroche was thinking a lot about light, how it catches on the folds and creates these soft shadows. It must have been a real challenge to balance the precision of the architectural rendering with the ephemeral quality of the draped fabric. That little touch of gold trim is so key, it gives the whole thing a touch of opulence. I think of other artists who were similarly obsessed with capturing the beauty of everyday objects, like Chardin or Morandi. They all remind us that there’s a whole world to discover in the details, and that artists help each other see, even across time.