Huib, Zus en Moes kijken naar een boeket met hulst before 1924

D. Viel made this ink drawing of a mother and two children looking at a vase of flowers, probably in their house. Just look at all those lines made with such skill and charm. I wonder about the artist’s hand moving swiftly across the page, creating the scene line by line. I can imagine Viel thinking how the flowers might look through the eyes of children: they are mesmerized. What kind of mood do you think the artist was going for here? It’s a simple, quiet, domestic scene. The composition is super interesting. I like how the wall’s vertical stripes contrast with the mother’s swirling dress pattern. The drawing has some of the same qualities I saw in the work of Maira Kalman—sweet, direct, and genuine. And it’s a reminder that all art-making is, in some way, an exchange of ideas, passed between artists through time.