Untitled 2018

Editor: This is an untitled portrait by Sami Gattoufi, created in 2018. It’s an oil painting, and I’m struck by its almost old-fashioned feel, even though it’s quite recent. The subject’s expression is calm but perhaps a bit melancholy. How do you interpret this work? Curator: That sense of melancholy is interesting. Let's think about portraiture historically. Whose stories get told? Who is memorialized? And, significantly, *how* are they presented? This portrait doesn’t scream power or status; it has a more intimate, personal quality. Consider the gaze: she doesn’t dominate the viewer, instead, there's a directness that invites connection. Editor: So you see it as a subversion of traditional portraiture in some way? Because I do notice what appears to be more of an every-day feel than traditional formal portraits of nobility. Curator: Absolutely. The sitter's clothing, while colorful, isn't opulent. Her hairstyle is simple. The brushstrokes themselves feel somewhat raw, vulnerable. These stylistic decisions are intentional; perhaps Gattoufi is reclaiming the genre, using it to represent someone outside the usual power structures that have dominated painting history. It's a democratization of the form. Do you think the absence of a formal title reinforces that idea? Editor: That’s a really interesting point about the title. It’s almost as if Gattoufi is saying that the woman portrayed does not need the traditional markers of identity to be worthy of representation. Thinking about that lack of a title, I wonder if it’s a larger message of inclusiveness and empowerment? Curator: Precisely! It’s this intersection of artistic choices and the social contexts surrounding them that allows art to speak to us across time. Editor: This portrait now seems much more profound than before! Seeing it as part of a larger conversation around identity, representation, and power has completely changed how I understand it.