The River 1942

O. Louis Guglielmi painted this piece, titled "The River," sometime during his career, and it’s interesting to think about how he built up its surface. The colours are fairly muted, giving it a kind of restrained feel, but then you notice how the paint is applied in these thin layers, almost like washes. The flatness of the water is particularly striking and creates this strange tension with the illusion of depth. You can see how he’s carefully modulated the tones to create this sense of distance, but it still feels very present. If you look closely at the brushstrokes around the figures, you get this sense of a world observed and carefully recorded. His approach reminds me a little of Edward Hopper, especially in how he captures these quiet, contemplative moments. It's like he's inviting us to bring our own stories and feelings into the scene, to finish the narrative ourselves. That's what I call good art.