Sunday, August 5, 2018

Old Woman Reading

Old Woman Reading, 1959, by Boris Ivanovich Kopylov 
(also listed online as Boris Ivanovich Mayorov) (1931-1991) 
I love the honesty and compassion of this portrait. The subject feels like a beloved relative overcoming her physical frailty with inner strength.

The pose and the reflected lighting seem natural, as if the artist discovered the arrangement. The tones and shapes are simple, and the shadows are unified. The treatment of the face, hands and hair are realized with care and subtlety, but there's no more detail in the rest of the picture than there needs to be.

Tomorrow we start Live Animal Week.

4 comments:

Shane said...

While we can not see what she is reading, the book is rather tattered and somehow looks well loved. There is something so gentle about her whole body language you almost expect her to look up at you and laugh. Beautiful work.

Unknown said...

Beautiful

Pierre Fontaine said...

I love the reflected light from the book shining back onto her face as if she's continually illuminated by the contents of the book she seems to treasure. I wonder if this scene was first captured as a candid photograph that was adapted into a painting. Thank you for sharing this lovely painting.

Unknown said...

È come vedere un proprio familiare, la nonna forse