Profile of a Woman 1932

Helene Schjerfbeck conjured this muted ‘Profile of a Woman’ in oil paint. It’s so subtle and economical, isn’t it? The bare minimum. I imagine Schjerfbeck, brush in hand, circling, erasing, and circling again, always refining. Those thin layers of ochre, sienna, and bone create a sense of quietness, as though she is covering up the noise and busyness of the world. Look at how the planes of the face barely emerge from the background and the almost translucent quality of the skin. There’s a gentle, melancholic mood here. And yet, there is also something very modern in the flatness and reduction. That one stroke of red on the lips really pulls you in. It's such a small detail, but it brings the whole painting to life. Painters are always talking to other painters; I see the quiet modernism of Morandi, or the reduced portraits of Fairfield Porter, but filtered through a Nordic sensibility. We build on the past, one gesture at a time.