Dream Book 1901

Alice Pike Barney painted "Dream Book" using oils, and there's this real sense of transience in the way she's put it together. The brushstrokes are visible, almost like whispers of color. I'm drawn to how the paint kind of floats and hovers, especially in the veil, which isn't solid, but a suggestion of something there. The texture is crucial; it's not about making things photographic, but about giving you the feeling of a dream. It's like she's building the image out of pure atmosphere. Look at how the red accents pull forward and give the otherwise cool palette a needed visual punch. It puts me in mind of Whistler, in the way it’s trying to capture a mood. There is a sense that art is an ongoing conversation, an idea to which we are constantly returning.