Vrouw in vlak landschap 1901

Simon Moulijn drew this tiny, tender work on paper called "Vrouw in vlak landschap," which translates to "Woman in Flat Landscape." Imagine him there, working with soft graphite, coaxing out this scene bit by bit. I see the woman standing alone in a field, almost blending into the sky and the land as though made of the same stuff. Did you ever try drawing with graphite? It's a beautiful medium to get lost in; you can build up such subtle tones, going back and forth, shifting the light. Maybe Moulijn was thinking about the Dutch landscape tradition or about women in art. It's so quiet, so simple. The woman seems to be in a moment of contemplation, as though the whole field is just a projection of what she's feeling, just one small figure in a vast world. I like to think that she’s having a conversation with other women drawn by other artists, across time and space.