The Serving Maid Possibly 1991

Augustus John made this print, The Serving Maid, with lines pulled out of a dark surface, and a bit of paper peeking through. I imagine him working back and forth, adding lines, then pausing, looking, adding more. I think of him thinking about how the face catches light and shadow, and how that tells you about a person. It's amazing how many feelings he gets across with just lines. The softness of the hair, the weight of the clothes, the slight pursing of the lips. All of these add up to a person caught in thought, maybe wondering when her break will come, but maybe more than that. It reminds me of the prints of Walter Sickert and the drawings of Käthe Kollwitz, all these artists trying to capture real life in simple gestures, and reminding us that art isn't just about beauty, but about seeing.