Laughing Gypsy Girl 1915

Robert Henri made this portrait, "Laughing Gypsy Girl," with oil paint on what looks like a pretty standard canvas. Henri lays down strokes of green and brown, the brushwork is visible and kind of juicy. He models the girl's face with these same strokes and slabs of pink to give her these incredible blushing cheeks and big, wide grin. I bet he's trying to capture a fleeting moment of joy. I wonder what he was thinking when he painted this? There's something immediate and joyful about it, like the sheer pleasure of applying paint to canvas and of seeing somebody happy. I wonder if it’s a study of light and shadow. The surface of the painting looks quite dry and crackled, which gives it a certain kind of aged beauty and also makes me think about the passage of time and the many layers that make up a painting's history. It also makes me think about other artists who have looked to portraiture to explore ideas around representation, identity, and the human condition.