In a Private Room (first plate) 1909

Jean-Louis Forain made this etching, titled "In a Private Room," most likely in Paris. It's all about these nervous, searching lines, isn't it? Like he’s trying to capture a fleeting feeling more than a solid form. I can almost feel Forain hovering over the plate, unsure, but driven to get something down. The woman is sketched with such tenderness, yet she remains somehow distant. I wonder what was on his mind, what he was trying to capture of the world, of human relationships? I see this constant reworking, the pushing and pulling that reminds me of Degas, both of them so deeply embedded in the everyday life of Paris. You can feel the conversation between artists happening across time, inspiring each other, trying to get at something real. And maybe that’s what art is, this constant exchange, this openness to the world and to each other.