Thomas Hardy 1906

Jacques-Émile Blanche painted this portrait of Thomas Hardy in London in 1906, with oil on canvas. Blanche lays down the brown paint thinly, almost staining the canvas, with a kind of suggestive realism. It's all about process, seeing how forms emerge from a kind of murky atmosphere, like a photograph developing in the darkroom. Look at how the light hits Hardy's forehead. It's not just about capturing his likeness, but about the act of painting itself, of seeing how the light falls and how you can suggest that with a few quick strokes. The paint is thin and transparent, allowing the canvas texture to peek through, especially in the background. See the quick strokes suggesting the shape of the chair? It’s a masterclass in suggestion. You get the sense that Blanche is not just painting Hardy, but also thinking about Velázquez, about how to create form with minimal means. It's this conversation across time that makes painting so endlessly fascinating.