Rapariga Costurando 1917

Antonio Carneiro painted ‘Rapariga Costurando’ with oils on canvas, and it looks like he really let the process guide him. There's a freshness to the brushstrokes. The surface has this almost velvety texture, like the paint was dragged across the canvas in places. The red apron is the focal point. It's not just a block of color, it's got these little peaks and valleys of paint that catch the light. I bet Carneiro mixed a few different reds together, pushing them around with a palette knife or a stiff brush. Look at the way the red and the white bleed into each other! That little dance between colors is everything. Carneiro reminds me of Vuillard, the way he finds the extraordinary in everyday domestic life. Both artists show us that art is not about grand gestures or perfect representations, but about how we see and feel the world around us.