Viv in Blue Stripe 1914

Robert Henri made this portrait, Viv in Blue Stripe, with oil paint on canvas, and you can see the bravura of each brushstroke, alive and direct. The overall palette is muted: lemon, tan, with the blue stripes, plus a hint of pink. I imagine the artist and sitter in silent exchange, the painter focusing intently, trying to capture a likeness, but also the spirit of the person. Henri was part of a group called the Ashcan School, painters who depicted everyday life, so I wonder if Viv was a friend, or whether she was paid to sit. There’s something both spontaneous and posed in the composition, she’s relaxed and in the moment, but you can see she’s been placed in the space, with the curtain background. Look at the way the paint handles the light and shadow on her face and clothes: it’s fresh and light, creating a sense of immediacy. Painters are always building on each other’s ideas, responding to the world around them, and trying to make sense of it all through color and form. You get the sense in this painting that Henri is part of a long conversation, trying to capture something authentic.