Portrait of Helene and Michette Guinotte 1901

"Portrait of Helene and Michette Guinotte" (1901) by Belgian artist Theo van Rysselberghe depicts two young girls in a close-up composition. The girls, sisters Helene and Michette Guinotte, are dressed in light blue dresses against a background rendered in a similar shade of blue. The artist, a prominent member of the Belgian Neo-Impressionist movement, captures the subject with distinct, short brushstrokes that create a unique texture. The piece embodies the style’s emphasis on light and color, showcasing Van Rysselberghe’s masterful use of pointillism, a technique that creates an overall impression of light and color through small dots of paint. The painting's subject matter and composition are typical of the artist's work, which often focused on intimate portraits of family and friends, often captured in domestic settings.