Zeven studies van orchideeën 1878 - 1943

Willem van Konijnenburg made these studies of orchids with watercolor, at an unknown date. Look at these orchids, how they hover on the page! Each one seems to have emerged through an intuitive process of layering and re-layering, shifting, and emerging. I sympathize with van Konijnenburg here, as he lays down these translucent washes of brown, purple, and green. What was he thinking as he painted? Was he trying to capture their delicate beauty, their fragile existence? The paint is so thin, applied in such soft, feathery strokes. Notice how the edges of the petals are blurred, almost dissolving into the background. Painters are always talking to one another, across time, inspiring one another's creativity. Painting embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations. This piece can offer as many meanings as there are viewers ready to bring their own perspectives to it.