The Grape Picker 1902

Eugene de Blaas made this painting of a grape picker with oils, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The colours are soft and hazy, all the edges are blended in a way that feels quite dreamy. It’s funny to think of blending as a process, but it really is – it’s like the artist is slowly bringing the image into focus, one brushstroke at a time. And look how he's used the paint: so smooth and thin, especially in the sky. It makes the whole scene feel light and airy. But then, on the woman's skirt, you can see little touches of thicker paint that create texture and movement. The folds in the fabric look almost alive. It’s like the artist is using the paint to tell a story about light and shadow, about weight and weightlessness. The way the light hits the yellow scarf around her head is like a little spark of joy in the painting. Reminds me a bit of Renoir, but with a touch of something else, maybe a bit more sentimental? Either way, it's a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself.