Edvard Westermarck 1913

Magnus Enckell made this expressive portrait of Edvard Westermarck with oil on canvas. It's like a little peek into a scholar's world, all captured with these juicy brushstrokes and a warm, inviting palette. I can almost feel Enckell figuring things out as he went along, you know? Building up the face, the hands, with these dabs of color – a little red, a little blue, mixing it right on the canvas. He’s pushing and pulling, trying to capture the essence of Westermarck, maybe even having a silent conversation with him through the act of painting. Look at the way the light hits his face and the books behind him; it's like a dance of observation, a very intimate study, like Vuillard might have done. It makes me think about the exchange between artists, how they borrow and build upon each other's ideas, creating this amazing dialogue across time. Painting isn’t just about what you see, but how you see it, and how you feel it too.