M. Coll — Young woman with flowers seated on a bench, 1912 | Original drawing on paper

A young woman with a serene expression, wearing a full dress with ruffles and puffed sleeves, rests on a wooden bench while holding a basket of flowers. With her other hand, she gently brings a small bouquet towards her face, in a scene that evokes the Romantic sensibility of nineteenth-century European illustration.

Signed M. Coll and dated 1912, this drawing retains the charm of an artistic tradition in which childhood, flowers and gardens were favoured subjects for depicting delicacy, innocence and everyday beauty.

The composition stands out for its meticulous treatment of the face and clothing. The carefully outlined eyes and softly modelled cheeks contrast with the lighter rendering of the surrounding vegetation. The folds of the dress are built up through blended shading and lines of varying intensity, while the flowers and bench introduce a variety of textures.

The historicist clothing and refined pose place the work within a visual sensibility inherited from nineteenth-century Romanticism, which remained present in graphic art at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The warm tone that the paper has acquired over time reinforces its presence today as a historical object, bearing witness to a drawing practice from more than a century ago.

About the authorship

The work bears the signature M. Coll and the date 1912 in the lower right corner. The full identity of its creator remains to be documented.

Research has located other early compositions signed M. Coll and a work dated 1936 under the name María Coll. This coincidence offers a possible avenue of identification, although it does not currently establish that they belong to the same artistic career.

Technical details

• Artist: M. Coll; full identity unconfirmed
• Descriptive title: Young woman with flowers seated on a bench
• Technique: Black-pencil drawing, possibly with charcoal, on paper
• Dimensions: 60 × 43.5 cm
• Date: 1912, inscribed date
• Style: Historicist figurative work, inspired by Romanticism
• Signature: M. Coll, lower right corner
• Condition: Paper with oxidation and overall darkening, small stains and surface wear. Trimmed corners. The image remains satisfactorily legible.

The Workshop Note

This drawing stands out for its age, delicate floral imagery and the attention given to the face and clothing. The date of 1912 and surviving signature add historical interest to an intimate piece, representative of the Romantic taste that persisted in graphic art at the beginning of the twentieth century.