A Corner of the Artist's Room, Paris 1909

Gwen John made this painting, A Corner of the Artist's Room, Paris, with oil on canvas. It’s a composition based on a simple color palette, a lot of muted browns and whites, and grays. It makes me think of the way Morandi worked, not like a still life but like a still room, or even a still life of a room. If you look closely, you can see how the paint is applied in thin layers, almost like watercolor. She really builds up the image slowly. There's this real attention to the texture of the walls, the floor, the chair, and the light coming through the window. I especially like the way she describes the umbrella, or is it a dress, hanging from the chair. The artist is so very delicate and observant of what’s in front of her, in her own space. Like Vuillard, she’s looking inward, making the ordinary feel extraordinary.