Portrait of Fra Dana 1897

William Merritt Chase painted this portrait of Fra Dana using oil on canvas. The material qualities here are critical. Notice how Chase has used the fluidity of oil paint to create a sense of spontaneity and immediacy. The brushstrokes are visible, almost gestural, giving the painting an unfinished quality. The quick, confident strokes suggest a rapid working process, an attempt to capture a fleeting impression. Look at the way the brushwork implies the texture of the fur stole, a flurry of dark strokes barely resolving into detail, suggesting that capturing the feel of the fur, and the status it implies, was more important than precisely defining it. This approach reflects a changing attitude towards artistic labor. Rather than the highly finished, painstakingly detailed works of earlier academic painting, Chase embraces a more modern aesthetic, one that values the artist's individual expression and the dynamic process of creation. Understanding the material properties of oil paint, and Chase's active manipulation of it, is key to appreciating this image.