Spanish Girl 1886

William Merritt Chase painted this portrait, Spanish Girl, using oil on board. Oil paint allows an artist to blend colors smoothly and create a sense of depth through layering, but here, Chase uses it with an almost slapdash, sketch-like quality. The rapid application of paint, with visible brushstrokes, gives the work an immediacy, as if capturing a fleeting moment. Notice how the dark shawl contrasts with the lighter skin tones of the subject's face, creating a dramatic, contrasting effect. The visible texture of the brushstrokes reminds us of the artist's hand, and this directness of execution democratizes the image – it is not so much a grand portrait as a study of a person in a specific time and place. That approach reflects a larger trend in art history, where the boundary between the fine arts and the applied arts begins to blur.