Dancer sitting 1969

Jean Jansem's "Dancer Sitting" is made up of somber tones and visible brushstrokes that construct a very personal portrayal. I wonder what it was like for Jansem to make this painting. He’s working with browns and blacks that remind me of the colour of dirt, and a bit of ochre for the figure. Maybe he felt that the dancer was grounded, caught in place. I can see her head is slumped forward. Her figure has been outlined with charcoal, and there are visible brushstrokes that he may or may not have wanted to be seen. There’s a raw and exposed vulnerability to her posture that speaks to a long history of artists painting the female form in ways that are not always empowering for women. As a painter, I think about these lineages a lot, especially as I consider the relationship between the painter and their subject, and how that history gets carried forward through time.