Portrait of a Boy 1920

Edvard Weie made this "Portrait of a Boy" with oils, probably wrestling with it on canvas. I can imagine Weie's struggle, troweling on the greens and earthy yellows. Was he thinking about the kid or the paint, or both? The greens in the boy's face and hair read as sickly, but with a sensitive and thoughtful mood. The black shirt dominates and makes me wonder about other painters like Manet who understood the power of black. What I like here is that one gestural rose and how it leans towards us, pulling us in. It feels like a conversation starter. It reminds me that artists are always in dialogue, picking up where others left off, and that the best paintings leave room for us to bring our own feelings to the mix.