Girl with Tambourine 1886

Editor: So, this is William Merritt Chase’s “Girl with Tambourine,” created around 1886. It's a watercolor, which I find fascinating given how gestural and almost unfinished it feels. It really highlights the materiality of paint, especially how thinly applied the washes are. What do you make of it? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to how Chase challenges the expected labor involved in portraiture. It's unfinished, yes, but purposefully so. We see the traces of the artist's hand, the materiality of the watercolor medium itself almost becomes the subject, instead of the girl. Consider how much quicker and cheaper this would have been than a traditional oil portrait of the time. Editor: That's a great point, especially comparing it to the highly polished portraits of the era. How does that challenge the traditional boundaries, do you think? Curator: It blurs the line between "high art" and something more immediate, almost a sketch. Look at the quick, broad strokes; it's about the *process* of seeing and recording. The market for art was changing, allowing for a less rigid structure. Now what of the sitter - what social clues does she afford us? Editor: Well, a tambourine suggests entertainment, a form of labor often associated with women… Curator: Precisely. She becomes a commodity, and the painting itself is a material object for consumption. So much information in such quick and nimble applications of water color paint. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it in terms of labor and the changing art market, more just as a pretty painting! That really opens up a new way to look at Chase’s choices. Curator: Exactly! By focusing on the process and materiality, we uncover layers of meaning that traditional art history sometimes overlooks. There are fascinating works ahead!