Lathyrus 1876 - 1951

Theo Nieuwenhuis made this drawing of Lathyrus using pen, black ink, and watercolor. The paper is stained and gives a sense of age to the drawing. It is like the paper has absorbed time. Nieuwenhuis is playing with color and form here, but, like, not too much. He’s just laying down some delicate washes of pale pink and the barest gesture of stems. I can feel him trying to capture the softness of the petals and the fragility of the flower's structure. It reminds me of botanical illustrations, but there's also something unfinished and dreamy about it. Like a memory of a flower rather than a scientific study. I imagine the artist gently coaxing these images onto the page, as though they might disappear if he were too heavy-handed. Doesn't it make you wonder if all art is a little bit like holding a flower?