Mukie 1914

Robert Henri made this portrait, Mukie, with oil on canvas, and I’m struck by its immediacy. The loose brushwork really captures a fleeting moment. Henri’s handling of paint is so direct, almost like he’s sculpting with color. Look at the way he builds up the form of Mukie’s face with these thick, expressive strokes of pink, peach, and brown. There's a real tension between representation and abstraction, like he's pushing the limits of what a portrait can be. The blue background hums with energy, those visible brushstrokes creating a vibrant, almost electric atmosphere around the figure. It reminds me of some of Alice Neel's portraits, that same raw, unflinching honesty in capturing the human form. Ultimately, it’s a celebration of the act of painting itself, a reminder that art is as much about the process as it is about the final image.