Lucinda, Mexican Girl 1917

Robert Henri captured Lucinda, a Mexican girl, in oil paint with strokes that feel both deliberate and spontaneous. The way Henri uses color is what really grabs me; it's not about matching reality, but about creating a mood. Up close, you can almost feel the texture of the paint, thick in some areas, thin in others, like he's sculpting with pigment. Look at the way he's rendered the skin tones, how a dab of pink here and a touch of yellow there brings her face to life. The brushstrokes around her eyes, for example, are so loose, yet they perfectly capture her gaze. It's like Henri is saying, "I'm not just painting a face, I'm painting a feeling." Henri reminds me a bit of Manet, in the way he fearlessly flattens space and celebrates the act of painting itself. Art is always a conversation, and Henri’s contribution to that conversation leaves so much open for interpretation.