The Grandmother 1989

Morteza Katouzian painted this portrait of a woman using an umber palette that feels almost sepia-toned, like an old photograph. The way he captures the play of light and shadow on her face, it’s clear that this painting is a loving study. I can imagine him, brush in hand, really looking, observing, and trying to understand her—maybe it’s his grandmother, as the title suggests. The way he’s rendered the lines around her eyes and mouth, the subtle droop of her brow; there’s a real tenderness there. She must have sat for him. I've done that before, and it isn't easy to sit still. What's really striking is how Katouzian balances realism with a kind of soft, dreamlike quality. Like a memory, the image is soft but still piercing. The colors evoke a sense of nostalgia or longing. He is in dialogue with the old masters who used the medium of paint to capture something eternal. That's what painting can do, right? Take something fleeting and make it stay.