Twee Spaanse vrouwen met gitaar en een papegaai 1893 - 1916

Alexandre Lunois made this lithograph of two Spanish women with a guitar and a parrot sometime around the turn of the 20th century. It’s this very subtle, almost ghostly, monochromatic work. I am thinking about the decisions that the artist must have made. I can imagine him thinking about the composition, the tonality, the light… the atmosphere. It’s funny to think about what the artist was looking at while making this. Was there a real parrot? How many studies did he make? The lithographic crayon makes these tiny granular marks; it creates soft edges and hazy areas. He’s somehow made this image out of stone. It reminds me of other artists who were working with printmaking at the time, like Pierre Bonnard or Édouard Vuillard. They were all interested in capturing these fleeting moments of everyday life. Artists are always talking to each other, across time, inspiring each other. And so, we are all swimming in the same soup!