Mrs. B. 1910

This is a portrait called Mrs. B., made by Herbert Adams. It's a bronze relief set in a wooden frame, and when I look at it I can imagine the artist carefully carving away at the metal, revealing the image of this woman bit by bit. There's something very still and composed about Mrs. B. She's captured in profile, seated in a chair, and her gaze is directed off to the side. I wonder what she's looking at, what she's thinking? The artist has paid so much attention to the details of her dress, the soft folds of fabric, the way the light catches on the surface. It makes me think about the way we construct our identities through clothing, and how portraits can capture a moment in time, preserving a person's likeness for posterity. This reminds me of the portrait busts made by sculptors in the Renaissance, where the focus was on capturing the character and personality of the sitter. Artists are always referencing and building upon the work of those who came before them. It's like one big conversation that spans centuries.