Rilke :Les sonnets à Orphée 1996

Maria Bozoky made this watercolour, Rilke: Les sonnets à Orphée, sometime in the 20th century. What strikes me about this piece is how free and spontaneous it feels. The colours are translucent and light, and the figures seem to emerge from a tangle of looping, sketchy lines. It's like watching thoughts take shape on paper, where the process of artmaking is laid bare. The way Bozoky uses watercolour is just gorgeous. She lets the paint bleed and flow, creating these soft, hazy effects that give the whole scene a dreamlike quality. Look at the girl's pink dress—the colour is so sheer, it's almost like she's made of light. And the thin black lines dancing across the surface, they don't just define the forms; they add a sense of movement and energy. The squiggle over the central figure's head is a particularly playful mark. It's these little moments that bring the whole composition to life. Bozoky’s gestural style is reminiscent of Raoul Dufy in its playfulness and lightness, but with its own unique sense of rhythm and flow. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection, but about capturing a feeling, an idea, a moment in time.