Sitting Lady (The Talk) 1905

Giovanni Boldini made this oil on canvas, Sitting Lady, and you can see that the brushstrokes are really doing the work here. Boldini lays down these marks with such energy, and it's less about describing what's there and more about finding a rhythm. The paint is quite thick, almost creamy, and you can practically feel the push and pull of the brush across the canvas. Look how he uses these long, sweeping strokes to suggest the flow of her dress, or the way the light catches on her sleeve. It's like he's not just painting what he sees, but also the feeling of being in that moment. And then, there's that splash of brown behind her head – so gestural, it could be anything! It reminds me of some of Manet's more abstract backgrounds, where the figure emerges from this whirlwind of paint. It’s more like a conversation between the artist and the painting, which is, after all, what art is all about.