Girl with Feathered Hat 1910

Max Weber’s ‘Girl with Feathered Hat’ from 1910, likely made with watercolor and pencil, is a soft and evocative image. I imagine Weber gently coaxing this portrait into being, line by line, with delicate washes of color blooming across the page. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil, lightly sketching the contours of her face and the extravagant hat, which looks like it might blow away at any moment. The watercolor is thin, almost translucent, creating a hazy atmosphere around the figure. The overall effect is one of dreamy elegance, as if she's stepped out of a faded photograph. Her slightly melancholic expression reminds me of Modigliani's portraits, with their elongated faces and almond-shaped eyes. But Weber brings his own sensibility to the work, with a touch of tenderness. It's like he’s capturing a fleeting moment of beauty and vulnerability, a quiet exchange between artist and subject. You can see the history of art unfold here, artists speaking to each other across time.