The Little Boy With The Big Carrot 1904

Albrecht Anker made this watercolor of a boy and his carrot sometime in the late 19th, early 20th century. Anker wasn't splashing paint around wildly; he was carefully layering colors, like he was building something delicate and real. Look at the boy's jacket, it's not just brown, it's a whole world of tans and russets, blended and blurred. I love how he uses the white of the paper to create a glow. It’s like he’s saying, “Hey, art is not just about what you put on, but what you leave out.” That fuzzy green top of the carrot pops against the orange. Anker really captures the feeling of childhood here. It reminds me a little of Courbet, maybe, in the way he celebrates the everyday. Art's not about fancy stories all the time; sometimes it’s just a kid and a carrot, and that's plenty.