Doll - "Aggie" c. 1937

This is Eugene Croe's "Doll - 'Aggie'," painted with opaque watercolor and graphite on paper. Just imagine the doll existing in real life, being carefully observed, studied, and then slowly transposed into a painted image. I feel like Croe is both copying and inhabiting "Aggie", who probably had a life before this painting. Look at the careful hatching of blues and grays that model the folds of her dress. I can imagine Croe, brush in hand, wanting to be as neat and tidy as Aggie's apron. But something is wonderfully off in the wonky rendering of the arms. Did Croe give up at that point? I think he suddenly saw Aggie differently, seeing her as just an object, a dummy, and lost interest. It makes me wonder: how can we ever really know our subjects? How can we ever truly know each other? What do we do with the frustration that comes from knowing we never can?