Marthe 1930

Nils Dardel made this painting, Marthe, in 1930, and it looks like he used oil paint or maybe gouache. I’m struck by the direct gaze and pose of the model – she seems to be looking both at us and somehow within herself. The paint is applied in thin layers, and you can see Dardel's hand in the small brushstrokes. I'm drawn to the way he's rendered the skin tones, using soft hues to give a sense of warmth. It's like he's tracing the light as it falls across her face and body. Notice how the fingers on her right hand are slightly blurred, almost dissolving into the background, while her other hand is positioned to draw attention to her body. This contrast feels intentional, as if Dardel is trying to direct our gaze. Dardel seems to be in conversation with other artists like Matisse, who shared his penchant for depicting intimate, interior worlds. Like Matisse, he invites us into a space of contemplation and introspection, where the boundaries between the viewer and the viewed begin to blur.