Ricardo, Indian of San Ildefonso 1916

Robert Henri painted Ricardo, Indian of San Ildefonso with oils, and what strikes me is his wonderful, warm palette. He's so loose with the application, it's all about capturing a feeling, a fleeting impression of this young man. Look closely, and you'll see how Henri builds the form with these visible, almost haphazard strokes. Thick paint here, thin washes there, letting the textures of the brush create their own kind of energy. The scarf, with its dark blue stripes, is pure physicality, isn’t it? The weave of the fabric almost becomes one with the brushstrokes. It reminds me of Manet in a way, the way he would build up a figure with layers of light and dark, playing with the surface quality. There's no perfect representation, just an artist working through the medium to find something true.