Hellig kvinde i landskab med borg i baggrunden 1929

Agnes Slott-Møller made this small watercolour, "Holy Woman in a Landscape with Castle in the Background," and it’s a lesson in how colour can make a painting sing. The mark-making is so simple, almost childlike, but the colour choices are where the magic happens. Look at the woman's robe, brown, yet glazed with blue and gold, reflecting light like a jewel. The landscape is no less considered, see how the transparent washes of green and blue give the impression of depth. There is such loving care in the details – the fine gold lines bordering the image, each blade of grass meticulously rendered. In a way, it reminds me of those medieval illuminated manuscripts, where every page was a devotional act. Maybe this is why I get a sense of peace from this image, a testament to what art can do when you slow down and really look.