Female image 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this portrait of a woman with thin, sure lines. The hatching gives the piece its drama. See how the cross-hatched lines build up a sense of volume and shadow around her face? I wonder what Havrylenko was thinking as he worked. The repeated strokes, the careful building of tone—there’s something meditative about it, right? Like each line is a thought, layering up to create this image, this person. The marks almost look like weaving. Up close, the surface reveals the artist’s hand. But then you step back, and all those little lines come together to form a cohesive whole. It’s like a conversation, in a way. Havrylenko starts it, and we, the viewers, continue it with our own interpretations and feelings. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about what’s on the surface but about the connections it creates and the dialogues it inspires.