Francisquita 1923

Robert Henri painted Francisquita with oil on canvas sometime around the turn of the century. I'm imagining Henri mixing a palette of dark greens, black, pinks, and yellows, moving from shadow to light, searching for something. Look how he's used these rapid brushstrokes to catch the glint in her dark hair and the rouge of her cheeks! It looks like she's just turned to face the painter. Maybe she's a performer, and this is Henri backstage, catching a private moment amid the bustle. Or maybe she's a society lady in a borrowed dress? See the ruffled yellow trim, the cool, black beads, the smudge of red fabric at the bottom of the painting? It’s like Henri’s riffing on Manet’s layering of blacks, and also anticipating Alice Neel’s knack for capturing the sitter's spirit. Francisquita is a mystery, just like the whole history of painting. Each artist picks up a brush and joins this long, ongoing conversation across time.