Morning Reflections 1910

Robert Henri made this atmospheric painting, Morning Reflections, maybe sometime in the early 20th century with oil on canvas or board. You can feel that he was really trying to capture a certain kind of light, a mood. Looking closely, the paint seems to be applied in thin washes and broken strokes, really allowing the surface beneath to breathe through. It feels like a very open, intuitive process where the marks are left visible as part of the whole. The yellow and green in the background really evoke that feeling of early morning light. I am drawn to the way Henri captures the figures with such economy. Look at the single red stroke which defines the figure in the lower foreground, how that dash of color activates the entire scene, and brings everything to life! Like a visual haiku, Henri embraces a kind of poetry that’s also present in the work of the tonalists like James McNeill Whistler. There’s a similar exploration of mood through subdued color and atmospheric perspective, always prioritizing suggestion over explicit detail.