Waterlelies c. 1856 - 1870

Editor: So, this is Maria Vos’s "Waterlelies," created sometime between 1856 and 1870. It’s a pencil drawing on paper and it strikes me as incredibly delicate. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It whispers of fleeting moments, doesn't it? Vos captured something so tranquil here. I imagine her sitting by a pond, sketchbook in hand, feeling the quiet shift in light as it danced on the water. Do you notice how the pencil strokes are more suggestive than definitive? Like she's inviting you to complete the scene in your own mind. Editor: I do. It’s not trying to be photo-realistic at all. Was she part of any particular art movement? Curator: Not in a strict, card-carrying sense. But the emphasis on nature, and the emotional response to it, that resonates with Romanticism. It is also the sheer fact that she would even be outdoors to sketch makes her part of an artistic vanguard. Most female artists were bound to interior scenes at this point. There's a subtle defiance here, too. Almost like she is capturing a feeling that is beyond any traditional boundaries, or gender. Editor: I never would have picked up on that defiance, but that adds another layer of meaning. It’s not just water lilies; it's a quiet rebellion. Curator: Exactly. And that is something I learn every time that I consider the work in her complete oeuvre. I like seeing it now together with you.