Proust: Illustration 6. 1979

Maria Bozoky made this illustration for Proust using watercolor and ink on paper. Can't you just feel the sweep of her hand? The wash of color? You can see her marks; the tentative lines; the sureness of her strokes, all working together to suggest the scene. I imagine Bozoky, hunched over her desk, maybe with a cup of coffee nearby, totally absorbed in the story of Proust and trying to find just the right visual language to capture its essence. She’s evoking a world, a mood, a whole sensibility, through a few well-chosen lines and colors. Look at the way she uses line to define the figures, and how the washes of color create atmosphere and depth. The watery ink creates a mood of dreamy reverie. Painting, like writing, is a way of thinking, feeling, and experiencing the world. I look at it and it makes me want to get to work and maybe illustrate a story of my own. Bozoky's painting is inspiring. It is a reminder that we are all in conversation with the artists of the past and present.