La France accueillant l’Abondance, projet de plafond pour le palais de l’Élysée 1907

Henri Gervex painted this ceiling project for the Élysée Palace, and the first thing that strikes me is his bravura mark making and the ethereal palette. Look at how Gervex has constructed the figures with these small, choppy brushstrokes. It’s like he’s building them out of atmosphere. The paint handling feels so free, and that sky blue just sings! See how the light seems to both emanate from within and reflect off the surface. It's hard to tell what kind of brushes he used but the marks feel very immediate, like he was working quickly to capture a fleeting impression. Gervex reminds me a bit of Tiepolo, that painterly Venetian who was so good at swirling clouds and light. But there's something more raw and unfinished here, a kind of joyous chaos that I find incredibly appealing. In the end, art, like life, is a conversation, and it’s the unresolved questions that keep it interesting.