Blond Bridget Lavelle 1928

Robert Henri painted Blond Bridget Lavelle with oil on canvas, using energetic brushwork to bring her youthful presence to life. Look at the luscious reds that dominate Bridget's sweater, alive with texture. I imagine Henri, brush in hand, stepping back, squinting, then lunging forward to capture the fleeting light on her face. I can see him, wrestling with the green shadows that dance behind her, trying to pin down the way the light catches in her hair. What was he thinking as he dabbed those rosy tints onto her cheeks? Was he charmed by her direct gaze, or challenged by the subtle shifts in expression? There is a real conversation going on here, an exchange between painter and sitter, but also between Henri and the long line of portraitists who came before him. He is echoing their quest to capture not just a likeness, but the very essence of a person. And he's doing it with such bold strokes, such unapologetic color, that you can't help but feel like you're in the room with them, witnessing the birth of a painting.