Dorita 1923

This is Robert Henri’s oil painting of ‘Dorita,’ and he’s used really bold brushstrokes to capture her image. I wonder what it was like to be Henri, standing in front of his easel. The paint is luscious and thick, especially in the folds of Dorita’s dress, and just look how he’s let those strokes of white and grey dance across the canvas! You can almost feel him dabbing and swirling, trying to catch the way the light hits. And that brilliant orange shawl against the dark background? It’s like a spark! I bet Henri was thinking about Velázquez and Manet as he painted. There’s a conversation happening across time, with each artist borrowing and riffing off the others. It's not just about copying; it’s about feeling a connection to the past, and making something new.