Portrait of Mrs. Hubbard (sketch) 

Editor: Here we have Thomas Eakins’ oil painting, *Portrait of Mrs. Hubbard (sketch)*. There’s a raw energy to it, the brushstrokes so visible. It feels incomplete, yet the subject's presence is palpable. What do you see in this piece, from a formalist perspective? Curator: I’m struck by the artist’s strategic use of light and shadow. Observe how the impasto technique—thickly applied paint—creates highlights on Mrs. Hubbard’s face and shawl, drawing our eye to those specific areas. Note also how the background melts away in indeterminate brushstrokes, forcing the foregrounded subject to the compositional surface. Editor: So the form dictates how we perceive the subject? Curator: Precisely. The loose brushwork gives the portrait an unfinished, almost fleeting quality, despite the solidity of the woman's pose. And the dark colours make me want to interpret the relationship between subject and canvas, rather than searching for a concrete, accessible interpretation. We must examine how Eakins’ application of oil paint influences our encounter with *Mrs. Hubbard*. Do you find any semiotic properties? Editor: Well, her downward gaze, combined with the darker tones, might signify introspection or pensiveness, which seem emphasized by the impasto technique. But those elements might be just functions of its composition and production, which really makes you reconsider interpretation, because those considerations might not exist... Curator: Indeed, one might not be able to assign the portrait any symbolic meaning due to its sketch form, in which colour, contrast, composition and even visibility act only as surface elements within the space, without any pretense of figurative qualities. Now what do you think? Editor: It's amazing how focusing on the brushstrokes and composition can change the meaning of the portrait. I now appreciate the piece’s raw physicality and the complex ways formal elements intersect to structure how we comprehend it. Curator: Absolutely, an essential reminder of how the aesthetic underpins all experience of art.