Sun Spots c. 1926

Frederick Carl Frieseke’s ‘Sun Spots’ is an exercise in making a painting from colour, light and air. He’s used small brushstrokes in a high-key palette to create a shimmering, dappled effect of sunlight filtering through the leaves. I can almost feel the artist outside, squinting, trying to capture the fleeting moment, mixing the paint, stepping back, and trying again. It’s a scene of leisure, depicting a woman reclining on a lounge chair in a garden with a table set for tea, but it’s the light that really commands attention. I can imagine Frieseke thinking about Monet, Renoir and the Impressionists, and how they were pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. The sunlight becomes a subject in itself! Look at the woman's dress. See how it’s rendered with the same stippled strokes as the foliage? The spots on the dress merge with the spots of light on the ground. It’s all atmosphere, like a unified field of sensation! It’s all about ongoing conversations between artists, and about how painting can embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. Frieseke’s is one version. What’s yours?