Florence Beerbohm c. 1925

Sir William Rothenstein made this drawing of Florence Beerbohm using sanguine on paper. I can almost see the artist quickly sketching, trying to capture her likeness with those warm, earthy tones. Look at how he used line! See the soft, flowing lines that define her face and hair, so understated and elegant. I wonder if Rothenstein knew that the simplest marks can communicate so much. I'm thinking about other artists, like Matisse, and his incredible economy of line. It makes you think about the endless possibilities of mark-making and how each artist interprets the world in their own way. The way they reduce the world, so that we can see it, anew. It’s like they are all in conversation, sharing ideas across time. In art, there's no one right answer, just a continuous exploration of what it means to see and feel.