The Chess Game 1907

John Singer Sargent created this small oil painting called “The Chess Game.” It’s awash with strokes of greens, yellows, and blues, colours that blend together in a broken manner. The painting has this unfinished quality about it. It’s like Sargent wasn’t so interested in how it looked but in how the paint got there. The surface is thick and textured. Look at the way the water seems to shimmer through these heavy strokes of blues and greens. It’s not about getting the colours right but about the gesture, the energy of the brush. Notice how the red dress is just a few strokes of colour that somehow create the feeling of fabric. The bare feet are just the same, a quick dab of white. Sargent always painted with this kind of confidence. It reminds me a bit of Manet, another painter who wasn’t afraid to leave the brushstrokes visible. Painting, for them, was a process, not a product. It was about the act of seeing and making.