The Ring 1911

John White Alexander painted ‘The Ring’ with oils, in a way that feels so process oriented, so caught up in the act of seeing. The brushstrokes are soft and blended, like a memory half-forgotten, but then, there are sharper details too, like the glint of light on the ring itself, or the little roses tucked into the hat. I keep coming back to the colour, which is not a literal green, but rather a complex layering of browns, greens, and yellows, that creates a kind of shimmering, atmospheric depth. Look at the way he renders the folds of her dress with subtle tonal shifts, it's almost sculptural. It makes me think of Whistler, with his atmospheric studies in tone and mood. And like Whistler, Alexander seems less interested in telling a story than in capturing a fleeting moment, a feeling, a state of mind. It's more about the poetry of the painting.