Gehurkte naakte vrouw 1878 - 1938

This drawing of a squatting nude woman was made by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, but when exactly is anyone’s guess. It's all in graphite, a humble material, but look at the way he teases out the form. See how the lines around her left knee dissolve into almost nothing, a breath? It’s as if he's not so interested in the solid volume of the body, but rather its ephemeral quality, the way it floats and shifts in space. The extra hand floating above her head makes me think of Matisse and his dancers, caught mid-movement, their bodies echoing and anticipating each other. I love how Holst leaves things unresolved, embracing the sketch-like quality. It reminds me that art is not about perfection, but about the messy, beautiful process of seeing and feeling. It's more question than answer, a conversation rather than a lecture.