Vrouw bereidt maaltijd in keuken 1935

This print of a woman preparing food in the kitchen is by Édouard Vuillard. Looking at the web of dark marks, it's like we are seeing the world through a screen, a kind of veil. What’s amazing is how Vuillard captures an everyday moment with such grace and an off-kilter perspective. I imagine him in the kitchen, watching this woman, maybe his mother or sister, as she moves around the space. He's not trying to capture a perfect likeness, but to evoke the feeling of being there, the clatter of pots, the warmth of the stove. You can almost smell what she’s cooking. The tonal variation suggests shadow and light, the soft, smudged charcoal creating depth and atmosphere. There’s a quiet intimacy here, a sense of being a fly on the wall, witnessing a private moment. It’s so evocative, so human. Vuillard and other artists of his time showed later generations that you didn't need grand subjects to make great art.