Child in Browns c. 1889

Curator: Before us, we have Alice Pike Barney's "Child in Browns," painted around 1889. It's a wonderful example of figurative work during that period, done with oil paints in what one might describe as an Impressionist style. Editor: My first impression is somber. The browns really dominate, and there’s a vulnerability in her gaze. The paint handling is quite expressive; I wonder what the surface is like up close? Curator: Barney employed visible brushstrokes; she really captured a transient moment, reminiscent of works by her contemporaries grappling with similar portraiture techniques at the time. There is a slight almost Romantic idealisation and soft palette—except the subject seems so much younger than other figures on view here. Editor: Yes, the texture seems really key to the emotion here. It reminds me how the very process of applying paint – the physical act and the material itself - imbues the piece with meaning, beyond just representation. What do the “browns” mean here? The clothing the hair? The background? Is this child in mourning? Curator: I’d lean into the social expectations and constrictions surrounding children. The brown might signify modesty, reserve; children had specific expectations as sitters and reflections of families, whereas that is upturned if say— a brighter palette with visible symbols was apparent like innocence as per the use of 'white', something of the Old Masters, yet not the new here. Barney's portraits are laden with complex, coded messaging from costume to facial cues. Editor: I find it interesting you mention that! This is a child dressed up perhaps, or presented in these dark clothes that contrast with her visage. Curator: Absolutely, you know she uses the gaze a lot. How she situates and renders this young face tells its own story. Do you know Barney moved to Paris to really expand this interest? Editor: And the materiality! That’s amazing – it shows you the conditions under which Barney was trained! Seeing the brushwork in the flesh would tell you a lot, the kinds of brushes used to apply such paint – and the labour that went into creating “an Impressionist” canvas that can come off now in history books. Fascinating! Curator: Definitely worth a look, another great piece and testament to this practice on childhood. Editor: Yes, absolutely something to behold from production to final look.