Portrait of a Lady 1940

Ding Yanyong’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’ looks to me like it came into being with oil paint, one brushstroke at a time, in an intuitive, searching process. The heavy outlines and bold swathes of color, like that unapologetic yellow shirt, make me think that Ding wasn't trying to capture a likeness, but rather, he was trying to communicate feeling. That earnest, slightly slumped pose suggests a mood of introspection and quiet contemplation. I can imagine Ding approaching the canvas, trying to balance his vision with the resistance of the material. The paint is applied pretty thickly, giving it texture, and the different patterns in the room behind create a kind of tension, which makes me wonder what he was thinking about, or what he wanted us to see. I admire that Ding embraced uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings and interpretations. I can imagine myself in that chair.