Bal Gavarni Fan 1903

Jean-Louis Forain made this fan, probably with charcoal or conte crayon, giving it this lovely smudgy, soft feel. You can see the artist really working through the composition, letting the marks build up to create the figures. The magic is in the way Forain uses the texture and color of the paper as part of the image, that warm ground really sets the tone. Look how the marks are really allowed to sit on the surface. Like the lines are floating, somehow separate from the paper, even when they're dark and dense. The way he renders the ballerina’s tutu, those scribbly lines, is so evocative and sensual. Forain was working at the same time as Degas, another artist interested in ballet dancers and modern life. I think these guys were onto something, capturing the fleeting moments of life and the messy process of seeing.