Portrait of a Woman 1918

Theo van Rysselberghe painted this portrait of a woman, probably in 1918, using oil on canvas. The way he’s built up the form with these tiny little dashes, almost like he’s knitting with paint, it makes you think about process, about how a painting comes together bit by bit. Up close, you can really see the texture. The paint isn’t smoothed over; it’s left rough and dimensional. The woman’s face is built from dabs of pink and yellow, like he is trying to capture the exact shade of the light on her skin. Look at how the blues and purples in the background kind of vibrate against the warm tones of her face. It’s like each stroke is a little decision, a little experiment, and together they create this feeling of vibrancy. This reminds me of Signac, but somehow even more intimate. It's like Rysselberghe is not just depicting a person but also sharing a moment, a way of seeing. Art is such a conversation!