Zittende vrouw kleedt zich aan 1925

Pierre Bonnard made this etching of a woman dressing, using black ink on paper. There’s a kind of sketchiness to the whole thing, a quickness, like he was trying to capture a fleeting moment. It's so casual, so immediate. Look how the lines create textures, the way the cross-hatching gives weight to the chair and the shadows. It's all about the physicality of the mark – you can almost feel the scratch of the etching tool on the plate. See the foot dangling there at the bottom? It’s just a few quick lines, but it’s so expressive! Bonnard's work reminds me a bit of Degas, in the way he captures these intimate, everyday scenes. But Bonnard has this softness, a dreaminess that’s all his own. He reminds us that art doesn't always have to be serious or grand, it can be about finding beauty in the ordinary.