Cecily Homer 1910

John Singer Sargent made this portrait of Cecily Homer, likely in oil on canvas. Can’t you just see him, brush in hand, circling his subject, trying to get it just right? I’m struck by how the dark background makes her face pop. The light is so sensitive! And that frilly white collar? It's like he’s sculpting with paint, piling it on thick in some spots, letting it thin out in others. That little dab of red on her lips – it's not just color, it’s a mood. A whole feeling captured in one tiny mark. You can see Sargent was really thinking about Velasquez when he made this. It makes you wonder what they would have said to each other! Painters, we're always looking at each other, borrowing, stealing, riffing. We have a kind of conversation across time, through our paintings, each one a little echo of something that came before.