Portrait of Jean Sibelius 1935

Eero Järnefelt created this portrait of Jean Sibelius with oil on canvas. I’m imagining Järnefelt, standing before the canvas, trying to capture the essence of Sibelius. The cool blues and grays give off a tranquil vibe, but it’s the subtle brushstrokes that really tell the story. You know, sometimes I wonder what it's like to paint a portrait. Do you try to get the likeness down first? Or do you go for some kind of emotional truth? Take a look at the way Järnefelt handled the light on Sibelius’s face, the shadows and highlights that give him so much weight and depth. You can see it in the tradition of portraiture, but there’s something unique in the way Järnefelt translates that tradition. Artists are always building on what came before, riffing on ideas, and pushing the medium in new directions. We’re all in conversation, each brushstroke responding to the ones that came before.