Listening Boy 1924

Robert Henri made this portrait of a boy in luscious oils with brushes wide enough to lay down thick swipes of color. Looking at the ruddy cheeks and soft shadows, I wonder if he was thinking about Velasquez. There’s a similar sensitivity in the modeling of the face, that same interest in the human, in the real. Henri’s brushstrokes feel like a warm embrace, full of affection for the subject. See how the dark ground bleeds through, especially at the edges. Was it a conscious choice or did Henri allow it to remain visible, making a virtue of necessity? I get the sense that Henri was thinking about Manet. Painters are always talking to other painters, across decades, across centuries. Henri's vision is as much about the boy in the chair as it is about the history of painting. Isn’t that the magic of art? The dialogue it opens up, connecting us to the past while illuminating the present.