Early Morning - Summertime 1920

Rose O'Neill painted this oil on canvas, called 'Early Morning - Summertime', sometime in her career. It's like she's built this whole scene from feelings, not just sight. The texture is incredible; the paint seems light, almost translucent, creating a hazy, dreamlike effect. Those blues outlining the robe, they aren’t just lines, they're like little jolts of energy, zipping around. And look at how the sunlight filters through the window! The colours feel so intimate and create a relaxed atmosphere. There’s this one spot, the way the blue trim of the robe meets the white fabric, so tender and blurred, as though O’Neill wants us to know that life is in the small, quiet, and fleeting moments. It reminds me a little of Berthe Morisot, but with a touch more whimsy. Both artists were interested in the quiet, domestic sphere, but where Morisot feels poised, O'Neill seems more playful, more open to chance. It feels like she’s not trying to give us answers, but asking us to sit with the questions, to find our own way through the painting.