Chaim Soutine, The Bellboy

The first thing that catches the eye here is a combination of red and white, Soutine's favorite colors and a pairing that recurs throughout his work. Painted in 1927, this portrait dates from a period when a growing circle of admirers had brought Soutine some financial comfort, and he began frequenting fine restaurants and hotels, where he painted numerous portraits of the staff who worked there.

He had two reasons for this subject. Service staff at the time occupied a low social rank, and Soutine, who had known similar hardship, felt a personal, emotional kinship with them. He was also drawn to their uniforms themselves, to the visual unity and color they lent to his compositions.