Arbejdende kvinde 1906

Albert Edelfelt made this small watercolor, "Arbejdende kvinde", with brushes and a monochrome palette. It's all about the drama of wetness, the artist seemingly coaxing out light and dark. I love how the washes suggest a figure hunched over, perhaps toiling away, with the barest details conjuring up a whole world of labor. Edelfelt coaxes a sense of presence from almost nothing. And I can imagine the artist leaning over the paper, thinking about form and feeling, and pushing the tones this way and that. There is a nod to the Old Masters but also a forward-looking sense of abstraction. It anticipates a whole tradition of mark-making, where the gesture itself communicates feeling, intention, and meaning. Thinking about this artist experimenting back then is a reminder that artists are always talking to each other across time, always egging each other on.