Robert Henri
It’s clear that it would take years of study to ever hope to come to an understanding of Henri’s applied techniques. Many have written graduate dissertations and thesis on his work. I have ten weeks to complete this mural, and will barely scratch the surface.
I’m reading and re-reading the Art Spirit, researching some of the archived writings, listening to lectures. But I’m not going to put the heavy weight on my shoulders of perfectly applying the techniques of his style. That would be a fool’s errand. What I hope to find and express is the art spirit.
Henri reassures, “I do not want to see how skillful you are- I am not interested in your skill. What do you get our of nature? Why do you paint this subject? What is life to you? What reasons and what principles have you found? What are your deductions? What projections have you made? What excitement, what pleasure do you get out of it?”
Henri’s art spirit is the essential creative impulse that drives artists to create. A deep and intuitive understanding of the world, a desire to express that understanding. He believed that it wasn’t to be taught or learned through formal instruction, but rather something that exists within the individual, needing to be nurtured and cultivated through a process of personal growth and exploration. The art spirit wasn’t just about creating beautiful or technically proficient works of art, but expressing one's unique perspective on the world and exploring the deeper meanings and emotions that lie beneath the surface of everyday experience.
I am grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to pursue the art spirit through his teachings.