Moroccan Women 1979

Robert De Niro Sr. painted 'Moroccan Women' with oil on canvas, and there is something really gestural about the way he made this piece, the marks are very process driven. What I love is the materiality of the paint; it's not trying to hide itself. It's thick in places, thin in others, transparent, opaque. Look at that one green stroke, hovering near the bottom, next to the women in green. It’s such a casual, confident mark, and it gives the painting this jolt of energy. De Niro was so influenced by artists like Matisse, but he was interested in a certain kind of looseness, a kind of vulnerability that wasn't always there in Matisse. Ultimately, painting embraces ambiguity. It’s about not being afraid to let things be unresolved.