The Sonata 

Childe Hassam made this painting with oils on canvas, a very traditional medium. The visible brushstrokes are a key element in understanding Hassam’s work, reflecting an engagement with the materiality of paint itself. He builds up a very palpable surface, where the tactile quality of the paint becomes part of the image. This is how the Impressionists worked in general: using an aesthetic of loose, broken brushwork to conjure up an impression, rather than a perfect likeness. It’s a way of working that implicitly acknowledges that a painting is just pigment on cloth – not a window onto the world. The very notion of ​​”finish” ​​in painting was called into question. The labor-intensive, polished surfaces of academic painting were seen as a bankrupt tradition; instead, something more vital and immediate was needed. Looking closely at the painting’s surface, we see an artist unafraid to leave traces of the hand. It is a reminder that even the most seemingly straightforward images are made from real materials, worked by real people. This acknowledgment bridges a gap between art and craft, connecting the finished object to its origins in the studio.