Portraite of Robert Mitchum 2018

Zani Corrado made this portrait of Robert Mitchum, and it's all about these cool, controlled brushstrokes that build up a face from what feels like a collection of thoughts. The color palette is pretty muted, mostly earth tones, which gives it this timeless, almost melancholic feel, but it’s the texture that really grabs you. The paint isn’t trying to hide; you can see every stroke, every decision Corrado made. Look closely at the area around the mouth and chin. There's this cluster of short, sharp strokes that define the form, but they also suggest a kind of vulnerability, a contrast to Mitchum's tough-guy image. It reminds me a little of Lucian Freud’s portraits – that same unflinching gaze, that same emphasis on the raw physicality of the paint. Ultimately, what’s so great about painting, like this, is that it allows for so many different ways of seeing. It's not about getting it "right," but about opening up a space for us to connect with the subject, and the artist, in new ways.