Man en meisje in een schildersatelier before 1953

Miep de Feijter made this ink drawing of a man and a girl in a painter’s studio, but we don’t know exactly when. The artist has approached the scene with a delicate hand, using fine, even strokes to build up shadows and forms. It’s almost as if the drawing is being coaxed into existence, one line at a time. The tonal range is narrow, mainly greys, which lends a certain intimacy to the scene, a feeling like the drawing has been made in the quiet of a studio, perhaps even secretly. Look at the artist, and then at the easel. It’s a painting of a painting, which reminds us of the layers of choices and decisions that go into making a work. The girl, seated, with her shiny black boots and demure expression, is especially evocative. De Feijter’s scene reminds me of Edward Hopper's paintings of lonely figures in sparse interiors, though this is a little more tender than Hopper. Art is all about seeing the world in a new way.