Dorita 1923

Robert Henri made this oil painting, Dorita, and honestly, you can feel the energy he put into every brushstroke. It’s like he’s right there, wrestling with the paint to capture something real. Look at how he's handled the white dress, those chunky daubs of grey, white and cream. You can almost feel the folds of fabric. It's so material, so there. Henri isn’t trying to fool you with realism; he's showing you how paint can become something else entirely. There's an honesty to how Henri works the paint. He doesn't hide the process, he celebrates it. Each mark is a record of his movements, his decisions, his way of seeing. It's like a dance between the artist, the model, and the medium. Henri reminds me a little of Manet, that same commitment to showing how the painting is made. Neither of them wanted to hide the process. They both let you see the brushstrokes, the messiness, the struggle. It’s all part of the conversation.