Woman in White 1915

Rik Wouters made this oil painting of a woman in white sometime in his short life. It's amazing to think about him dabbing and stroking the paint across the canvas to create this image. You can almost feel the textures and brushstrokes as you look at the painting! The paint is applied with a kind of juicy freedom, not too thick, but enough to give it body. Look at the ruffles on the woman's shirt - you can see each individual stroke of white paint creating a sense of movement. I wonder what Wouters was thinking as he painted this woman? Was she a friend, a lover, or a model? Did he ask her to sit still for hours, or did he capture her in a fleeting moment? It's all so fresh and intimate. You can see he’s riffing off impressionism while doing his own thing. It's like all painters are in conversation with one another, across time. Wouters learned from those who came before him, and now he inspires us today. It’s an ongoing exchange of ideas and techniques. Painting is an embodied experience that embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.