[Study in Orange] 1904

This small painting, Study in Orange, was made by René Le Bègue sometime between 1870 and 1914. It’s all about the mood, right? The image is made up of these thin washes, mostly in shades of orange and brown, kind of scrubbed into the surface, but it feels like they’re floating on top of the canvas. It's like he's trying to catch a feeling more than make a perfect picture. Look at how the background seems to dissolve into the figure, everything is soft and suggestive, nothing is completely defined. It’s a really beautiful way to deal with edges, allowing them to breathe and change. It reminds me of James McNeil Whistler, who was also interested in capturing these fleeting moments and atmospheric effects. There's a softness and an ambiguity in both of their works that I find really compelling. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be about answers, sometimes it's about asking the right questions.