Antonio Mancini 1902

John Singer Sargent captured Antonio Mancini in oil on canvas, but it's more than just a likeness, it’s a real character study. I wonder if Sargent started with those smears of dark brown, almost black, around the edges? Look how he’s built up Mancini’s face and hand with these rapid, confident strokes of pale yellows and pinks. Mancini's hand is so present, isn’t it? As a painter I always look at hands. I imagine Sargent was looking at Mancini looking at him, thinking about hands as makers of marks. It's like they're having this silent conversation about painting, right there on the canvas. There’s an intensity in those eyes, a kind of knowing. I see the influence of painters like Hals, and Velázquez. They were all involved in this long, continuous painterly conversation, weren’t they? Each one borrowing, responding, and pushing the language of painting further. It's a reminder that painting isn't about perfect representation but about feeling, interpreting, and communicating something essential about being human.