Vrouw bladerend door een boek 1880 - 1936

René Janssens made this subtle print of a woman reading, location and date unknown. The use of a warm, monochromatic palette immediately caught my eye. It’s as if the image is steeped in sepia tones, giving it a nostalgic, almost dreamlike quality. You can really feel the process, each delicate stroke building up the form. Looking closer, the texture in this piece is so inviting! The way Janssens uses the ink, it feels almost velvety, especially in the woman’s hair. There's a real intimacy in the way the light glances across her face, drawing you into her private world of reading. The open book in her hands is almost as much a portrait as the woman herself. Maybe something like Whistler would have been an influence here. I love how art can do that – capture a moment, an emotion, and invite us to bring our own stories to it.