Bloemenstudie van Papavers en Rhododendrons 1872 - 1950

Barbara Elisabeth van Houten made this watercolor painting of poppies and rhododendrons sometime in her life. Look at how she's used color! There’s such an intimacy in her approach, a way of letting the paint do its thing. The surface is a dance of translucent washes, pooling and bleeding into each other. The reds of the poppies aren’t just red; they’re alive with hints of orange, pink, and even the faintest touch of purple. The dark centers are soft and blurred. The way she's captured the light is really lovely, with these unexpected yellows and blues popping through the leaves. It makes the whole thing feel like a fleeting moment, a glimpse into a secret garden. There’s this one poppy, slightly off-center, where the red is most intense, almost vibrating against the muted greens around it. It's like a little spark of pure energy. You could compare this to the work of Emil Nolde. Like Nolde, van Houten embraces color as a means of emotional expression, but with a gentler, more lyrical touch. It’s a reminder that art is always in conversation, each artist building on the voices of those who came before.