Young Girl Before a Mirror in a Pink Dress 1923

Frederick Carl Frieseke made this oil on canvas, *Young Girl Before a Mirror in a Pink Dress*, sometime in the early 20th century. Look at this scene, how it breathes and shimmers with light and color. The gentle strokes and soft palette make the whole composition feel like a hazy memory, or maybe a half-remembered dream. I can only imagine Frieseke’s studio filled with light, as he captures this young woman lost in thought, her reflection a ghost of herself in the mirror. The paint is applied in thin layers, creating a luminous surface, like the impressionists. The overall effect is less about precise representation and more about feeling and atmosphere. I keep coming back to the way Frieseke uses these delicate pinks and oranges to create a mood of reverie. It makes you feel nostalgic for something you can't quite put your finger on. Think of other painters like Berthe Morisot, another painter of the intimate interior. Ultimately, painting is a conversation, a call and response across time. Each stroke, each color choice, is part of an ongoing dialogue that keeps evolving.