Elenbergen 1916

Camil Ressu's painting, Elenbergen, is this lovely, quiet portrait done with what looks like oil on canvas. The colors are muted, almost like a memory, and the brushwork is so gentle; it makes you think about the act of seeing as something tender. You get the sense that Ressu was interested in capturing the essence of this person, not just their likeness. Look at the way the light catches on her cheek, or the soft folds of her sleeves. The paint isn't trying to trick you, it is thin and in places you can see the canvas through it. And those eyes, they’re looking somewhere beyond us, like she’s caught in her own world. It all comes together to create this intimate moment, a pause in time. It's a painting that reminds me a bit of Paula Modersohn-Becker in its directness, but with its own kind of Romanian quietness, too.