Nude Woman 1916

Theo van Rysselberghe made this painting of a Nude Woman in 1916, but it feels as though it could have been made yesterday. Imagine him in his studio, maybe on a cold day when the light was dappled with soft pinks and yellows, and the model was shivering slightly as she sat for him. The painting is made up of these little strokes of colour, a broken surface of marks that come together to make this soft, human form. Look closely and you'll see how the colour seems to vibrate across the surface. I wonder what van Rysselberghe was thinking about as he was painting? I see shades of Klimt, Vuillard, maybe hints of Bonnard. There's a feeling of Impressionism in the way he builds the image with these small marks, capturing the fleeting qualities of light and atmosphere. Painters are always in conversation with each other, even across time. We look, we learn, we borrow, and we add our own voice to the mix. And ultimately painting is about touch, the way the brush meets the canvas, and the way colour can evoke emotion and a sense of presence.