Queen Christina in Palazzo Corsini 1908

Kristian Zahrtmann made this painting of Queen Christina in Palazzo Corsini, but it's not dated. There's a lot of blue going on, kind of a melancholy vibe, like the queen's just hanging out, maybe bored. The brushstrokes are pretty tight, but the colors are layered in a way that gives it depth, like the artist was building up the image over time. Check out the texture on the queen's dress. Zahrtmann uses these tiny, careful strokes, but then he lets the blue bleed a little, so it feels both precise and a little wild. You can see the underpainting in places, like he wasn't afraid to leave the process visible, you know? It's almost like he's saying, "Here's how I made this, look closely!" It kinda reminds me of some of Manet's interiors, all those awkward angles and people just doing their thing. Art's always talking to other art, like a big conversation across time. I love how Zahrtmann embraces that ambiguity, leaving space for us to fill in the gaps and make our own connections.