Edna 1915

Robert Henri’s oil painting, Edna, gives us an image of this woman through the soft, wet strokes of his brush. The background is a haze of greens and blues, a blur that lets the figure float forward. Henri is not trying to capture every detail, but instead seems interested in a certain kind of attitude or mood. Look at the way he’s modeled her face with soft pinks and greys, it's like he’s building up the form slowly, layer by layer. The kimono she is wearing has some decisive dark brushstrokes around its hem which help offset the softer brushwork in her face. This tension between precision and haziness gives the image an atmospheric, dreamlike quality. To me, it’s like seeing an echo of Whistler in the way Henri balances detail and suggestion, inviting us to look beyond representation.