Lint van lila gaas c. 1900 - 1915

This length of lilac gauze ribbon, currently residing at the Rijksmuseum, feels like a breath of fresh air. It's so diaphanous, so light, that it seems to float right off the display. I can imagine its maker, Gustav Schnitzler, handling the delicate material, coaxing it into shape, feeling the subtle give and take of the fabric between his fingers. Was he thinking about the way light would play across its surface, the shadows it would cast, or the way it would move and ripple in the slightest breeze? That barely-there lilac hue, it’s almost like a whisper. It reminds me of a Monet water lily, pale and dreamy, or maybe a Rothko color field painting, all soft edges and hazy atmosphere. Schnitzler is having a conversation with those painters, even though he’s working in a totally different medium. It just goes to show that art is a continuous, ongoing dialogue, a shared space of inspiration and creativity.