Alden Brooks 1916

Roderic O'Conor painted Alden Brooks in oil on canvas, we're not sure exactly when. Look at how O'Conor builds up the image, almost sculpturally, using these tactile strokes. The painting feels less like a window onto a scene and more like a collection of surfaces and textures, a very physical thing. Take the way O’Conor renders Alden Brooks’ hands: see how the pinks and whites are almost roughly smeared onto the canvas? It’s like the colour is fighting to break through the surface, giving them this restless energy. The brushstrokes around the hands and face are quite thick and opaque, which gives a lot of weight to these areas. But then the blue and purple in the background is more transparent, creating depth and shadow. This work feels to me like it is in conversation with the works of someone like Bonnard, who also used colour and texture to create very personal and intimate portraits. Ultimately, this painting is about creating a feeling, a mood, an atmosphere, over any fixed meaning.