Laughter. Laughing woman 1904

Joan Brull painted this laughing woman, probably in oil, sometime around the turn of the 20th century. What strikes me about it is the immediate, almost casual way that the paint has been applied. It’s confident and assured. Look at how Brull captures the light on the woman’s face. The brushstrokes are visible; they don’t try to hide the making. It’s like he's saying, “Here’s the paint, here’s the gesture.” See around the mouth how the artist uses dabs of red to give it volume, and the slight shadow of the top lip. It's kind of incredible what a dab of paint can do to convey depth. This piece reminds me a bit of Manet, that same interest in capturing a fleeting moment, a contemporary type, and a similar handling of paint. Both artists seem more interested in the act of painting itself than in creating some illusionistic scene. It feels honest, like a conversation. And that’s what art is, right? An ongoing, laughing conversation across time.