Portrait 1961

Jean Paul Lemieux painted this portrait, using what looks like oil on canvas. There’s something immediately charming about the way the artist worked through the painting process, how the brushstrokes linger on the canvas. Look closely and you can see subtle imperfections and irregularities in the rendering of form. The planes of the face are subtly rendered, using delicate tones. The texture of the ochre dress against the neutral background creates a fascinating juxtaposition. The painting seems to hover between representation and abstraction, capturing the essence of the subject while also asserting its own materiality. This balance makes me think of Alex Katz, who also captured the feeling of an individual, using simple blocks of colour. What could be seen as a stylistic choice is also a very human thing to do. It resists definition and asks more questions than it answers. And that, to me, is where the magic lies.