Portrait of John Steinbeck 1963

Martiros Sarian made this oil painting of John Steinbeck, and it's like he's building a face out of pure sensation. Look at the way Sarian lays down these strokes, almost violent in their directness. The paint is thick, sculptural, each dab a decision, a little world of its own. The color palette, earthy and muted, gives Steinbeck a grounded, almost elemental presence. Notice the pinks around the upper right, these are just *suggested*. The painting isn't trying to capture likeness so much as presence, the weight of a man's gaze. That one dark, almost black, stroke that defines his jawline isn’t just a line, it’s like a chop, a risk, a declaration that this is painting, not photography. It reminds me a little of the way that Alice Neel would grab a likeness from real life with her own decisive brush strokes. It’s all about the conversation between the artist, the paint, and the person they’re trying to capture.