Portrait of a Chamorro Woman - Indigo 1934

Paul Jacoulet made this print of a Chamorro woman, sometime between 1930 and 1960, using woodblock and color. What strikes me first is the dance between the real and the represented. Take a look at the woman's blouse. Jacoulet renders the fabric with such delicate, almost transparent strokes that it seems to float away from the body. Yet, the precise patterns adorning it anchor it back to the surface. It is like Jacoulet has captured the very essence of impermanence, freezing it in a single image. The indigo dye, a deep, resonant blue, is the linchpin, connecting the figure to the background and pulling it all together. Jacoulet's work reminds me of Utamaro, but with a twist. Where Utamaro sought to capture fleeting beauty, Jacoulet seems to be after something more permanent. The dialogue between the artist and his predecessors, a silent conversation that echoes through time and space, is exactly what art is all about.