Cori Laughing 1907

Robert Henri made this oil painting, Cori Laughing, with dark tones set against strokes of peach, cream and red. Imagine Henri, brush in hand, trying to capture that fleeting moment of childhood joy. I can relate to Henri's painterly challenge of coaxing such a visceral moment out of thin air. Think of the surface as a site of inquiry, the making itself a process of revealing something that wasn’t there before. Is the paint laid on thickly, or is it more of a thin wash? Look at how the dark background pushes the figure forward, making Cori's laugh almost pop out at you! The single stroke of red, arcing across the grey shirt, is a particularly lively gesture. What do you think Cori was laughing at? Maybe Henri told a silly joke, or maybe Cori was just naturally full of beans. I think of other painters like Alice Neel who were masters at capturing the aliveness of their sitters. Artists are in an ongoing dialogue, pushing each other to see the world in new ways!