Slapende vrouw 1901

Martinus van Andringa made this drawing of a sleeping woman in an unknown year with chalk on paper. The blending in this piece is just gorgeous. Chalk is such a messy medium, but there’s a real fluidity to it here. The limited color palette - mostly blues, grays, and whites - gives the whole image a soft, dreamy quality. But look closer, and you see these sharper lines that define the folds of the sheets and the contours of her face. It's almost sculptural, like he’s carving light out of the darkness. Notice that the hand seems to be actively grasping the bedsheets, which has a slightly unsettling quality. The sensitivity to light and shadow reminds me of Whistler, who also captured these intimate, quiet moments. It just goes to show you don't need a ton of colors or detail to create something really powerful. It’s all about feeling.