Woman in the Bath 1964

Brett Whiteley made this painting, Woman in the Bath, using oil on canvas, and it really grabs me with its dark, moody feel contrasted with the fleshy tones of the figure. The dark blue consumes the scene, except for the bath and the woman inside it, which feels so intimate, like a secret glimpse. I'm drawn to the way Whiteley handles the paint, how he lets the strokes be visible, thick in some spots, thin in others. The water pouring from the showerhead is rendered with such delicate lines, it’s almost like he's sketching with paint. Look how the dark blue kind of bleeds into the contours of the bath, it is a clever way to give a sense of depth without being too fussy. This piece makes me think of Bonnard, another artist who loved painting the intimacy of domestic life. What’s so great about art is this constant conversation, these echoes across time. Whiteley's painting isn't just a picture of a woman in a bath, it’s a portal into a feeling.