Lezende vrouw c. 1890

Editor: This is *Lezende Vrouw*, or "Reading Woman," by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, dating from around 1890. It's a drawing with pencil, ink and watercolor on toned paper. It feels incredibly intimate, like we're peeking into the artist's personal sketchbook. I'm struck by how quickly and loosely it's rendered. What can you tell me about this work in relation to the period when it was created? Curator: It is precisely that intimacy which tells a story. Sketchbooks at the time served a purpose not simply for preliminary work but for the development of an artistic persona. What is included, what is omitted, or what remains 'unfinished' were as crucial for cultivating an 'authentic' aesthetic as the completed artworks destined for public exhibition. Consider how Lion Cachet leaves this drawing of a reading woman seemingly incomplete, capturing a private moment but implicitly inviting us to witness its creation. How do you think this piece challenges traditional notions of finish and presentation for late 19th-century art? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn’t thought about "unfinishedness" as a deliberate artistic choice tied to public perception. It definitely subverts the idea of polished academic art that was valued back then. Curator: Exactly. The rapid strokes and open composition seem to reject the established aesthetic values of the Salon system, and align more closely with the growing appreciation for immediacy and the artist's subjective experience within Impressionism. Do you feel this work anticipates later developments, such as modern abstraction and the prioritization of process over product? Editor: Definitely, seeing the process so openly makes it feel much more modern. Thank you. I am going to be looking at sketchbook art through completely different lenses now. Curator: As will I! It is valuable to question whether we consider these types of work as 'preliminary' and less important, when in fact these quick observations show the artist's process in engaging with cultural change.