Little Indian 1917

Robert Henri made this painting of a boy with oil on canvas. Look how the heavy blue paint of the boy’s jacket sits on the canvas, almost sculptural. I imagine Henri, layering the paint, pushing the medium to its limits. The boy’s dark hair contrasts beautifully with the red of his cheeks. The whole painting feels like a conversation between the artist, his subject, and the very stuff of paint itself. I wonder, what was it like for Henri, capturing this young boy's image? Did he see a universal spirit, a strength that transcended culture? And how does this painting speak to Henri’s other works? I see echoes of his interest in portraiture, in capturing the human spirit with bold, expressive strokes. Painters are always in dialogue, aren't they? A continuous exchange of ideas across time, each stroke of the brush a response to what came before, an invitation to what might follow.