Kore (Akropolis museet inv. 685) 1911

In this watercolour, Kore (Akropolis museet inv. 685), made in 1911, Marie Henriques has rendered the classical sculpture with subtle lines and delicate washes of colour. Looking at it, I feel like she and I are somehow in conversation. I wonder what it was like for her, sitting there in the museum in Athens, trying to capture this ancient form with her brush. The soft blues and reds she’s chosen give the statue an ethereal, almost dreamlike quality. It’s as if the Kore is emerging from the paper itself. Henriques’ delicate handling of the watercolour feels very personal. The thin paint allows her to play with the texture of the paper, letting it shine through. Her artistic vision reminds me a little of Agnes Martin's subtle yet profound meditations on form and line. It's like Henriques is using the watercolour to not just copy but also to meditate on the very idea of classical beauty, offering us a new way of seeing and feeling the world.