De briefschrijfster 1917

Léon Spilliaert made this watercolor, titled "The Letter Writer," sometime around 1917, and what grabs me right away is how he’s working with a really limited palette to give us so much mood. Look at the way the blues wash in and out, creating the figure, chair, and background. It’s not about filling in lines, but more about letting the watercolor do its thing, bleed and blend. I get the sense of a quiet, intimate moment, the kind you might catch through a doorway. The writer’s concentration, the softness of the light – it all speaks to the interior world. Now, notice the paper itself, how it’s left bare in so many places. That’s not a mistake; it’s part of the whole effect. It reminds me of the way someone like Whistler used watercolor, keeping it loose and suggestive. There’s something unfinished about it, which only adds to the sense of fleeting time. It is a quiet conversation, not a loud pronouncement.