Study for the Queen of Sheba Ceiling Mural at Hôtel Carnavalet (now Musée Carnavalet) c. 1920

This is a study for the Queen of Sheba Ceiling Mural at the Hôtel Carnavalet, by José María Sert, likely made with photography, somewhere around the early 20th century. The photographic approach really gives it an interesting feeling, a kind of softness as if the light is being filtered through a screen. I'm drawn to the way the artist uses light and shadow to create a sense of depth and volume in the figure. There's a real sensitivity to the way the light falls across the model's skin, emphasizing her curves and contours. You can almost feel the texture of the fabric beneath her, the coolness of the air in the room. The grid overlay feels like a kind of ghost in the image, a reminder of the process of translation from life to art. It's like the artist is saying, "Here's the real thing, but here's also how I'm going to change it." It makes me think of other artists who have used photography as a tool for painting, like Gerhard Richter, where the source image becomes a starting point for something else entirely. Art is all about seeing, thinking, and feeling in new ways.