Helen Brice 1907

John Singer Sargent made this oil painting of Helen Brice, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the way he builds the figure out of these shimmering darks and lights. You can imagine him working, deciding, correcting, and improvising; all the thinking made visible in paint! It feels like he and Helen are having a conversation. It’s her portrait, of course, but it’s also kind of a self-portrait. Think about the material reality of painting. All that pushing and pulling of thick, sticky pigments to conjure the illusion of a person! It’s a kind of magic trick, an alchemy. Notice the way he renders the folds of her dress, each brushstroke imbued with light and depth. The way Sargent captures the sheen of the fabric – it's so lush! It reminds me that painting is a dialogue across time, artists responding to artists and seeing each other’s work. Ultimately, Sargent’s painting is a kind of dance. It asks us to see, to feel, and to keep on looking.