La diseuse de bonne aventure, sainte-maxime 1914

Henri Lebasque painted "La diseuse de bonne aventure, sainte-maxime" with oil on canvas, capturing a moment of quiet repose. I love the way the brushstrokes are visible, almost like the scene is built out of soft daubs of color. It’s all about the process, the making. Look closely at the steps, and the way he’s built them up, layer by layer. The paint isn’t trying to hide; it’s right there, thick and textured. The red dress the woman wears is particularly striking. It's patterned with flowers. I see the influence of Impressionism, but there’s also something very personal in the way he handles the paint. It's like he's whispering secrets with each stroke. It makes me think of Pierre Bonnard, another French painter who loved to paint intimate scenes of domestic life. But where Bonnard's colors often seem to shimmer and dissolve, Lebasque's have a more grounded, earthy quality. Art is a conversation, isn't it? A painter speaks to us through their work, inviting us to see the world in new and unexpected ways, and there's never just one way to see it.