De briefschrijfster 1917

Léon Spilliaert made this watercolor, De briefschrijfster, in 1917. It looks like he’s captured a moment of quiet concentration, where the act of writing becomes almost meditative. I can imagine Spilliaert gently layering the washes of color, one over the other. See how the blue seeps into the background, and how the white of the woman’s dress almost glows against it? It's so subtle, so delicate. And the pose, so hunched over, suggests an introspection, as if she’s writing something very private. You know, I wonder what she's thinking about as she puts pen to paper? Is she composing a love letter, or perhaps pouring out her worries? Spilliaert’s work often deals with themes of solitude and mystery, and I feel that here. The scene is simple, but it evokes a quiet drama, a sense of something unspoken lingering in the air. He reminds us that even the simplest scenes can hold worlds of emotion. Like Fairfield Porter, he shows us that painting offers a way of seeing and experiencing the world anew.