09. Groundzero Aquarel Voorstudie

Unknown artist

Title: Fallen Towers, Silent Souls – Watercolor Study Year: 2001 Medium: Watercolor on paper Artist: Martine Jacobs Theme: 9/11 reflection, spiritual mourning, preparatory study Description: This watercolor by Martine Jacobs serves as a quiet yet powerful prelude to her later pastel work on the same theme. Painted in the wake of the September 11 attacks, it captures the emotional gravity of that moment through fluid brushwork and symbolic abstraction. Two towering forms rise in smoke, surrounded by human figures lying in stillness — not as victims, but as souls suspended between worlds. The muted palette of greys, ochres, and deep reds evokes both devastation and reverence. The sky, heavy with shadow, becomes a spiritual veil through which grief and transcendence intertwine. As a preparatory study, this piece reveals Jacobs’ deep spiritual lens: her ability to transform historical trauma into visual prayer. It is not a depiction of disaster, but a meditation on loss, memory, and the invisible ascent of those who fell.