Vinifera 2021

Mary Jane Ansell painted this arresting portrait of a woman surrounded by grapes and vines, but when I look at it, I’m transported into a reverie. I love the way Ansell coaxes light from the darkness, how the face emerges and glows. I imagine her studying her subject, maybe for hours, looking at the way light falls across the planes of the face and then mixing and remixing the right tone on her palette. I wonder, does she lay down the thickest layers first, or slowly build up the image with thin glazes? Her commitment to figuration reminds me of Jenny Saville’s fleshy portraits or maybe even Titian's portraits of nobility. But what does it mean, this gorgeous and poised woman surrounded by symbols of fertility and abundance? Is she a modern-day Ceres, goddess of agriculture? I love a painting that lets me ask questions instead of answering them.