Man with Narrow Tie, Cluett Shirts Arrow Collar advertisement 1910

Here’s that dapper gent in the Cluett Shirts Arrow Collar ad, painted by J.C. Leyendecker sometime in the early 20th century. Look how Leyendecker lays down the paint in these confident, broad strokes, especially in the background. It's like he's not just depicting a man, but the very act of seeing him. The surface is alive! There's a real physicality to how the paint sits on the canvas. Check out the way he renders the shirt. Those stripes aren’t just lines; they're built with layers of color, creating this subtle depth and volume. It’s all about the feeling of fabric, of light, of presence. It reminds me of Sargent’s portraits, that same bravura handling of paint to capture something beyond just likeness. Both Leyendecker and Sargent seem to be asking: can painting itself be an attitude? A way of being in the world?