Young girl from Istria 1939

Hermann Lismann made this watercolor, "Young girl from Istria," and it has a dreamy quality, don't you think? The way he layers these washes of color, it's like he's searching for the form, letting it emerge through the act of painting itself. Look at the girl's dress – that delicate pink, almost like a blush. It's painted so thinly, you can see the paper underneath, giving it this airy, ethereal feel. Then, contrast that with the darker, more solid strokes used for her hair and skin. There's a tension there, a push and pull between transparency and opacity. It makes you want to run your hand across the surface, to feel the different textures. And that kitten! It's just a little ball of fluff, barely defined, yet it adds so much to the scene. It reminds me of the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also captured these intimate, domestic moments with such tenderness and simplicity. Art isn't about answers; it’s about seeing the world in new ways.