Laughing Child 1907

Robert Henri made this painting of a Laughing Child, probably with oil on canvas. Look at how Henri's put down those marks, like he's really feeling the kid's energy, right? It's all about capturing a moment, a fleeting expression. The brushstrokes are loose, kind of juicy and free. The colours are pretty simple, mostly whites and pinks. He’s making it up as he goes along. What gets me is the texture, that raw, tactile feel of the paint. You can almost see Henri wrestling with the medium, trying to pin down that slippery thing we call a smile. Look at those dabs of red on the cheeks! They’re like little explosions of joy, pure sensation. The dark background makes the kid’s face glow. It’s so immediate, so alive. Like John Singer Sargent, he's got a way of making paint feel like a living thing. This is about the pleasure of painting itself and the messy, unpredictable magic of capturing a feeling on canvas.