Sitzendes Maedchen 1949

Vivian Oviette made this etching, called 'Sitzendes Maedchen', using delicate marks, cross hatching and simple lines. You can almost feel her hand at work, scratching the surface, wiping away excess ink, printing, reconsidering. I wonder what was going through Oviette’s mind as she made this? It’s a curious scene: the girl looks pensive, self-contained, like she’s not giving everything away, and you get the feeling she has other things on her mind. I especially like the way Oviette uses lines to define the figure's contours, suggesting form and shadow with such minimal means. It reminds me of other figurative artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also knew how to do a lot with a little. In the end, artists are always in conversation with each other, looking, learning, and riffing off of one another. Painting is about embracing the unknown, trusting your intuition, and allowing the work to lead you where it needs to go.