Conrad and Reine Ormand 1906

John Singer Sargent painted this portrait of Conrad and Reine Ormand with oil on canvas, but when exactly? Well, that’s up for grabs, isn’t it? Look at the way he's built up the forms with these loose, fluid brushstrokes. It's like he's thinking on the canvas, adjusting and refining as he goes, never quite landing on a fixed image. Sargent's paintings always have this wonderful sense of immediacy, a feeling that they could change at any moment. The surface has a tactile quality; you can almost feel the drag of the brush across the canvas. The paint isn't overworked or fussy. See how the white of Reine’s dress dissolves into pink and grey, with just enough detail to suggest the lace collar and frills. This area feels especially alive; the fluidity captures something of the child's energy and presence. It reminds me of Manet, another artist who wasn’t afraid to leave things unresolved, trusting in the power of suggestion rather than labored description. This embrace of ambiguity gives the painting its vitality.