Saluting Santa, by J. C. Leyendecker. Saturday Evening Post Cover, December 7, 1918 1918

This Saturday Evening Post cover from 1918, made by J.C. Leyendecker, renders Santa in a somewhat different guise. Imagine the artist at his easel, conjuring this image into being—layer upon layer, pushing and pulling the paint to create this striking scene. The deep reds and whites leap out at you, don't they? It's as though Leyendecker wanted to capture the wartime spirit, with Santa in uniform, giving a salute. The painting is figurative, of course, yet each stroke of the brush feels deliberate, each color choice emotionally charged. I wonder if the artist was thinking about the war, and how Santa could play his part? I'm drawn to the way the white highlights dance across the surface of his red coat, giving it a real sheen. Leyendecker's work always reminds me of other illustrators and painters, each one building on the other's insights. It's all part of an ongoing conversation. Painting is like that—an embodied expression, full of uncertainty, open to multiple interpretations.