Portrait of Dr. Jefferson Joseph Citron, DDS 1918

Here is a portrait of Dr. Jefferson Joseph Citron, DDS, painted by Norman Rockwell. It has a dark backdrop, against which the white uniform of the subject stands out. I wonder what it was like to paint this character? Was Rockwell aiming for a photograph? He has the highlights under the eyes just so. There's something about portraiture that is an act of capturing—trying to get the essence of someone—and I think he's achieved it. It reminds me of all those conversations artists have about light and shadow, color and form, and how these combine to create an image that is both realistic and, at the same time, totally artificial. It's a painting, after all, not a person. And it's in these tensions that the magic happens. Rockwell's work is like a reminder that even the most traditional forms of painting can be a site for some intriguing alchemy.