Notre-Dame, Ile de la Cité 1959

Ludwig Bemelmans made this view of Notre-Dame and the Ile de la Cité on paper, with watercolor and ink. Looking at this, I imagine Bemelmans with his paper propped up, trying to capture the essence of Paris in a few strokes. See how the lines wobble and dance, like the reflections on the Seine? I can feel the breeze, hear the city's hum. The architecture is evoked with a kind of playful abstraction, as though he’s saying, "Here’s what it *feels* like, not just what it *looks* like." There's something very immediate about his way of seeing. It reminds me of Raoul Dufy's joyful cityscapes. It's like they are both sketching a feeling more than a photographic rendering. It’s all one big conversation, this painting thing. Each artist picks up where another leaves off, adding their own spin, their own voice, to the mix. This one feels like a happy postcard from a friend.