Henry James 1908

Jacques-Émile Blanche painted this portrait of Henry James at some point, but when exactly? It’s hard to say! Look at the backdrop, like one of those old-timey photography sets, that almost swallows James up. He’s caught in a pensive moment, perhaps reflecting on the intricacies of human relationships, or maybe just wondering what’s for dinner. There is a certain soft moodiness here, achieved by building up the form from thin layers of colour. I like to imagine Blanche in his studio, stepping back, squinting, adding a touch more brown to James’s coat, a bit more ochre to that backdrop. There's a real conversation happening between the painter and his subject, each influencing the other, with both leaving their mark on the canvas. It's a dance of observation and interpretation. Painters are always in dialogue with each other, borrowing and riffing and responding. That’s what makes painting so alive— a constant push and pull, a give and take, between what’s seen and what’s felt.