Fitted for a Suit 1916

J.C. Leyendecker made this painting of a tailor fitting a young man for a suit, but we don't know exactly when it was made, or where it was made. It's really about looking. The brushstrokes here are so visible, so confident. Like, look how the tailor's vest is defined with just a few strokes. It's the way the paint sits on the surface, how Leyendecker leaves the marks visible, that gives the work its energy. It’s fascinating how Leyendecker uses color. The palette is muted, almost monochrome, but the subtle shifts in tone create a sense of depth. The tailor's face is a web of tiny lines, and each mark feels deliberate, a little like Seurat, but more confident. I think of Sargent when I see this, both were master portraitists. But where Sargent often aimed for elegance, Leyendecker has a different feel to his work. It's less about capturing likeness and more about capturing a moment, a feeling. It's this tension that makes the painting so compelling, always inviting us to look again.