Mevrouw Storm van 's Gravesande-Clifford en haar dochter in de tuin Possibly 1918

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande captured this pastel drawing of Mevrouw Storm van 's Gravesande-Clifford and her daughter in the garden, but when? We don't know! I see soft greens and earthy browns gently smudged and layered to evoke a tranquil garden scene. I'm curious about the artist's choice of pastel. It lends itself to hazy, dreamlike impressions. Look at how the strokes capture the play of light on the foliage, creating an almost vibrating effect. I imagine Storm van 's-Gravesande standing there, rapidly capturing the scene, trying to grab the essence of the fleeting moment. It makes me think about other artists, like Berthe Morisot, who used pastels to capture intimate, domestic scenes. You can see the influence of impressionism, right? These artists were all in conversation, borrowing and building upon each other's ideas. It's a reminder that art is rarely created in a vacuum but emerges through dialogue and exchange. And it's this exchange that gives it such power, don't you think?