Petit costume de sport en toile bleu et blanche 1919

This print, Petit costume de sport en toile bleu et blanche, was made at an unknown date by an anonymous artist. It presents a charming image of leisure through delicate, almost tentative linework. It has the kind of look that makes you think that artmaking can be easy! The palette is restricted to blues, yellows and greens. There’s a flatness to the image, a quality of color applied in thin washes almost like watercolor, so that the paper breathes through. Look at the tree, though, a weird almost abstract shape – that gives the piece a surreal quality. Then note the tennis net, with its very regular rhythm. And consider the sporty lady’s expression – what’s she thinking? The choice of color is interesting because it embraces ambiguity, and evokes a dreamlike atmosphere that, to me, is reminiscent of the work of Henri Matisse. But here, the approach is more provisional, like the artist is feeling things out. We're left with a sense of art as an ongoing process, embracing ambiguity and multiple interpretations.