Bather 1905

Childe Hassam made this painting, Bather, using what looks like oil paint in a way that feels both considered and spontaneous. The texture in this painting is really something. The way Hassam builds up the leaves with these short, choppy strokes gives the whole scene a shimmering, almost vibrating quality, don’t you think? Look at the way the light hits the leaves in the upper left; there is a build-up of impasto there, giving real substance and body to the scene. It feels really physical. And the figure, almost swallowed by the landscape, adds a wonderful sense of scale. It's like a dance between abstraction and representation. Reminds me a bit of Bonnard, actually – the way he lets the paint do its thing, creating a space that's as much about feeling as it is about seeing. What do you make of it?