Drie kinderen voor de etalage van een boekwinkel c. 1910

This image of three children outside a bookshop is an early print, possibly a book illustration. The colours are muted, and the lines are soft. This suggests the artist’s hand, even though the printmaking process itself is fairly technical. The soft rendering of the children’s clothes, like the girl’s pink coat, feels very cozy, with a hint of nostalgia. It contrasts with the crisp black of the dachshund’s outline, which gives him a wonderful sense of weight. I love how this little detail anchors the composition. Looking at the faces of the children, there is a lack of detail. We are encouraged to see them more as forms, or even ideas of children, rather than portraits. There’s something very modern about that. It makes me think of children’s book illustrators like Margaret Bloy Graham, who brought a similar sense of space and openness to her pictures. Art is an ongoing conversation across time and is always open to new interpretations.