The Open Window 1917

Frank Benson made this painting of a woman by an open window, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The brushstrokes are feathery and loose. Look at how the light seems to dissolve form, especially around the edges of the white shutters. I wonder what it was like for Benson to find this scene, to translate its three-dimensional depth into a painted surface. Was he trying to capture a likeness, or was he more interested in how the light moved across the room? Did he start with the woman, or with those open windows? I can see him, squinting, trying to mix the right shade of white to capture the sunlight. And I’m reminded of other painters, from Vermeer to Fairfield Porter, who’ve used the motif of an open window to frame a world, both inside and outside. Painters learn from each other, riffing on the same subjects, adding their own perspectives. And like this painting, the conversation goes on, open-ended, unresolved.