Portrait of Wilhelm Bode 1904

Max Liebermann painted this portrait of Wilhelm Bode, and the lack of a defined date encourages us to see it as a timeless character study in oil. I’m drawn to the painting’s surface, which is a kind of record of the artistic process. Liebermann doesn’t try to hide his marks; instead, he allows us to see the brushstrokes, the layering of paint, and the subtle shifts in color that create a sense of depth and texture. Look at how the gray of the background is made up of so many different tones. The way he suggests form, especially in the face, with subtle flicks of the brush, it feels like a conversation, a back-and-forth between artist and subject. This reminds me of some of Vuillard’s portraits. Both painters are less interested in perfect representation, than in capturing a certain mood or essence. It's a reminder that art is not just about what we see, but how we see it, and how that seeing shapes our experience of the world.