Correspondence 1912

Carl Larsson made this watercolor, Correspondence, sometime before 1919. It’s got a very light touch, yet the details are intricate. I can only imagine how much time he spent getting the light just right. Larsson's watercolors are filled with an intimate domesticity. Here, he's captured a child, perhaps one of his own daughters, absorbed in a solitary moment, writing or crafting by candlelight. The colors are muted, mostly warm browns and greens, making me feel like I'm looking into a cozy corner of someone's home. You can almost feel the stillness of the room. I'm thinking about the artist's intention here. What does the act of correspondence mean? And what are the correspondences between painting, writing, and model-making? Painting is this ongoing conversation between artists across time, a constant exchange of ideas. I always find a lot of comfort in thinking about the work as more of a suggestion than a fixed statement. It's about embracing ambiguity and letting the viewer bring their own experiences and perspectives to it.