Portrait of Frank B. A. Linton 1904

Thomas Eakins painted this portrait of Frank B. A. Linton using oil on canvas in 1904. The colours are so restrained here, almost drab – browns, greys, blacks – but somehow, they make the painting sing. And look at the paint handling: Eakins builds up these incredible subtle layers, scumbles of colour, that create a real sense of depth. There’s a passage on the right side of the face, just under the eye, where the paint is built up in these delicate strokes. It’s kind of like a landscape, with all these tiny peaks and valleys. You can almost feel the texture of the skin. For me, this focus on process and materiality is what makes the painting so compelling. It reminds me of the work of Lucian Freud, who also used paint to create a sense of the body as a living, breathing thing. It shows that painting is an ongoing conversation across time.