Flower Girls 

Alexei Harlamoff painted "Flower Girls" with oil on canvas and arranges its subjects in an intimate theatre of chiaroscuro. The painting captures three young girls amidst a vibrant array of blossoms; a composition that teeters between a staged tableau and a candid snapshot. The rough texture of the back wall contrasts with the delicate rendering of the girls' faces and the ephemeral quality of the flowers. Harlamoff masterfully uses light to sculpt form, casting the figures in a soft glow that accentuates their youth and innocence. Structurally, the work is divided into distinct zones of light and shadow, drawing the eye towards the central figures while obscuring the background. Semiotically, the flowers themselves serve as potent signifiers, evoking themes of beauty, transience, and the fleeting nature of childhood. This is reinforced by the figures and their gazes, each seemingly lost in their own world, creating a sense of detached observation.