Cape 1935 - 1942

Melita Hofmann made this watercolour of a cape at an unknown date. Look closely at the details of the cape: the soft, draping fabric, the delicate lace, and the playful fringe. Imagine Hoffman, brush in hand, carefully building up the layers of pigment, trying to capture the textures. I wonder if she had the original cape in front of her. Did she feel the velvet between her fingers, tracing the curves and folds? It's such a patient and loving rendering of a garment. Painting is a process of translation, turning something three-dimensional into a two-dimensional image. Every brushstroke is a decision, a choice about how to represent what the eye sees, but also what the hand feels. It reminds us that Hofmann was part of a long conversation among artists, each finding new ways to express the world around them, inviting us to look closer and see with new eyes.