Naar het licht 1916

Akiko Yosano made this small artwork, Naar het licht, with gentle strokes and a muted palette, probably as part of the book cover it now adorns. I can imagine her carefully layering thin washes of pink, blue, and green, allowing the texture of the paper to peek through. There’s a quietness here, a meditative quality, as if Yosano was capturing a fleeting moment in a dream. The blossoms, the little bird, the suggestion of water – they create a little world, both intimate and expansive. I wonder if she was thinking about traditional Japanese prints, maybe playing with those conventions in her own way, with a personal touch. It’s like she’s inviting us to slow down, to breathe, to find beauty in the everyday. Artists are always riffing off each other, across time and space. Yosano’s work, like all great art, reminds us that painting is an act of conversation, a way of connecting with the world and with each other.