Emma Homan 1844

John Bradley painted "Emma Homan" sometime in the first half of the 19th century, using oil on canvas. Consider the very materiality of paint. The pigment gives us the color, but it is the oil that allows the fine particles to be suspended and applied smoothly onto the canvas. The artist would build up layer upon layer of paint, each one influencing the final appearance of the artwork. Also note that painting portraits was a skilled trade. Bradley would have had to understand how to mix colors, how to prepare the canvas, and how to create a likeness of his sitter. The social context is also crucial. Bradley was working in a period when there was a growing middle class with aspirations of upward mobility. Portraiture was a way to express that status. Paintings such as this demonstrate the convergence of technical skill, material knowledge, and social context, which blurs the boundaries between fine art and craft.