The Green Parasol 1911

Rose O’Neill made this painting, The Green Parasol, with oil on canvas, though I can't tell you exactly when. The way O’Neill flicks paint around is so interesting. It's like she's not trying to smooth things out, but rather build up a surface with individual dabs of color. Look at the way the light plays on the water, those quick strokes of blues and whites, it’s alive and shimmering. Or the yellow dabs in the grass, they vibrate against the blues and purples in the woman’s kimono. Speaking of which, have you noticed how the kimono almost dissolves into the landscape? It’s like she's blurring the boundary between figure and ground. It reminds me of some of Vuillard’s interiors, where the figures are subsumed by the patterns and textures of their surroundings. It makes you wonder about the relationship between the woman and her environment, is she part of it, or separate from it? I love how O’Neill leaves room for all these questions.