Charles Beach – WWI American Sailor 1918

Here's J.C. Leyendecker's portrait of Charles Beach, a WWI American Sailor, and it's a beauty! Look at the juicy brushstrokes and the confident way the colors are laid down. You can tell Leyendecker really knew how to handle paint. He's not just copying what he sees; he's feeling it, pushing it around, and making it his own. I wonder what it was like to stand there in front of Charles Beach and see him emerge on the canvas, bit by bit. What was Leyendecker thinking about as he painted that uniform, those eyes? The way he captures the light on the sailor's face gives him such a fresh, all-American look! It makes me think about Sargent and all those portrait painters who were trying to capture something real about their subjects. Artists are always talking to each other, across time, riffing on the same themes, you know? It's one big conversation, and we get to eavesdrop.