Portrait of Georges Navazza 1916

Ferdinand Hodler made this portrait of Georges Navazza using oil on canvas. Look at the way Hodler builds up Navazza’s face with these strokes of warm yellows, pinks, and reds that capture the light hitting his skin. You can tell the artist is looking and thinking hard. I can imagine him stepping back from the canvas, squinting, and then leaning in again to make these small adjustments that create the illusion of a real person. I wonder what it was like for Hodler to be in the studio with Navazza? What did they talk about? Did Navazza sit still or fidget? Was Hodler trying to capture his essence, or just record what he saw? I like the slightly unfinished quality, as if it's a record of an encounter rather than a definitive statement. You get a sense of the artist trying to capture something fleeting and alive, something that maybe can't be fully captured.