Portrait of Florence Einstein 1905

Thomas Eakins painted this portrait of Florence Einstein with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is how he lets the process be visible. It’s not about a perfect likeness, it’s about the act of seeing and trying to capture it. Look at the background, how the browns and blacks blend, creating depth but also a sense of unease. Then there's Florence's face, rendered with a kind of stark honesty. The brushstrokes are visible, especially around the eyes and mouth, giving her a sense of presence, almost as if she might turn and speak. And the shawl! Eakins uses these soft blues and whites, with these fleeting touches of pink, almost like he’s trying to catch the light as it moves across the fabric. It feels so gestural, like a dance between color and form. Eakins reminds me a little of Degas, both in his realism, and like him he wasn’t afraid to show the effort, the struggle, in the making of an image. Art isn't about answers but about asking good questions.