The Romance Makers 1918

Charles M. Russell made this painting, The Romance Makers, with oil paint on canvas. The scene is bathed in warm, hazy light and the brushwork looks pretty direct. There's a feeling of immediacy, as if Russell wanted to capture the fleeting beauty of a moment. I'm drawn to how the paint is applied, it's neither overly blended nor aggressively textured. Instead, it's somewhere in between, creating a soft, almost dreamlike quality. Look closely at the way Russell renders the horse’s musculature, especially around the shoulders. The brushstrokes are short, gestural, and seem to capture the animal's strength and vitality with just a few flicks of paint. It’s this kind of intimate detail that really brings the scene to life for me. Russell's work reminds me a bit of Frederic Remington’s, but with a softer, more romantic touch. Both were interested in the mythos of the West, but Russell seems to approach it with a bit more heart, making room for sentiment and, like any artwork worth its salt, leaving plenty of space for us to bring our own feelings into the mix.