Dress c. 1936

This is a drawing of a dress by Melita Hofmann. It’s hard to pin down the date, but judging by the style and the medium, it probably dates to the mid-20th century. I find the precision of the mark-making interesting. Tiny little dots make up the main pattern on the dress, like a Pointillist painting. It's as if she built up this image through a slow, repetitive process, a bit like knitting or embroidery. When I zoom in, I see the pale hue of the paper underneath the paint. Hofmann has used watercolour in a very delicate way, letting the light flood through. This thinness lends the work a ghostly, fragile quality. The lines are clean and controlled, almost like an architectural drawing. It reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, someone else who used repetition and a light touch to create a sense of calm and serenity.