Interior with Young Woman Tracing a Flower

Louise Adéone Drölling, French, 1797–1831 C.1820–22. Oil on canvas

Louise Adeone Drolling’s “Interior with Young Woman Tracing a Flower” may quite possibly be the most magnificent painting I think I’ve come across. Yes, I love art and have experienced a myriad of artworks in different forms that have grasped my attention, but there’s something extraordinary about this piece. A simple scene is depicted, but the means of portrayal are anything but.

The viewer happens upon a room with a distracted young woman sitting in front of a large window, tracing the shape of a flower onto a sheet of paper. A simple action, yet arranged in such an innocent and alluring way that it is mesmerizing. Our main subject is tracing her flower against the window so that she can use the sunshine as a backlight for the sheet of paper. The sunlight, being the only light source in the composition, also brightens the room, and casts shadows from different objects but most clearly it illuminates the green drape hanging across the window. Drolling’s mastery of color and light is witnessed most prominently here. The way the sun warms up the green to an almost translucent hue, is breathtaking. It’s as if there is an actual light shining through the painting to create this radiant glow. 

As the viewer’s eyes gaze down from the green drape, we see what has grasped our subject’s attention. It is a squirrel perched calmly on the arm of a chair taking bites from a piece of fruit. Maybe it is a piece of fruit left over from a still life setting that our budding artist took a hand at reimagining on a canvas. Or maybe she has been alone in her studio for so long with only the company of this squirrel that the two have become acquainted, bringing about the sense of peace felt between the two. 

In this painting we see allusions to our main subject being an appreciator of art and literature from different artifacts found around the room. The books in the bookcase reflect a learned woman. The guitar placed on the wall shows that our subject has an interest in music and perhaps plays the instrument. The bust on the shelf and several art panels on the floor underneath reiterate her passion for art emphasizing that she may be a professional artist who appreciates past motifs. Pushing the notion further that she is an artist working to perfect her craft is the crumpled piece of paper on the floor. Perhaps what is her first attempt at tracing the flower, but one she is not satisfied with.

It is important to note that Drolling came from a family of artists. She studied alongside her brother, Michel, under the guise of their father, Martin. Because it was rare for women at the time to be fully recognized as career artists, Drolling was often kept in the shadows of her artistic male family members. For that reason I believe that Drolling’s subject is a reimagining of her own self - a young woman, a lover of art, refining her skill.

Drolling’s attention to detail is amazing. Her portrayal of fabrics, folds, light, shadows, depth and height all come together to make this composition such an extraordinary one. Truly, it has captured my heart.