Segovia, Spain 1906

Robert Henri made this painting, Segovia, Spain, with oil on canvas. The marks are laid down with confidence. Check out the sky—it’s not blended smooth; each brushstroke is distinct, like a little decision made and then left alone. I love that kind of honesty in painting, that trust in the process. Look at how the brushstrokes build the mountains in the background. They're not just colored shapes, but tactile surfaces, almost like the paint itself is turning into the landscape. The colors, too, feel grounded, earthy. That little patch of red in the buildings. Henri’s work reminds me a little of what Marsden Hartley was doing, that same kind of direct, unpretentious engagement with the world. It’s like they’re both saying, "Here's what I saw, here's how I felt, and here's the paint to prove it." I think we can all relate to that in our own way.