Today's Art and Beauty Tuesday is Back to School by Igor Babailov. Babailov is a contemporary American artist featured on the Art Renewal Center's website as a Living Master.
This work shows a pensive girl, perhaps dressed in a uniform, ready for her first day back at school. She is probably wondering how the year will be, if she will make friends and if she will like her teachers. Her face shows a quiet hopefulness that often pervades the coming of Autumn.
I like how her face is bathed in light, even though the rest of the portrait is in darkness. Youth, childhood and education combine to give her hope and light.
7 comments:
I can't help but see a "half asleep" kid. That's probably because I have two teenagers. Oh wait, one is now 20! And there's that word again: pensive. It's showing up a lot for you lately.
LOL, I didn't think of "half asleep"! You're probably right!
I see the teacher's opportunity to affect the future.
What came to my mind is that she's thinking, "Dang, the summer's over already! Back to teachers and homework..."
But perhaps she's contemplating a year of making new friends and learning new things. I suppose this picture is open to various interpretations.
Evan
I think so, Evan. Great art often is.
So much is going on in the painting in spite of its simplicity - the many angles and circles draw one to the eyes which indicate she is somewhere else, not in front of us. I love the emphasis on the face and hands. Great art is always engaging and this is certainly great art.
"Great art is always engaging."
That's an excellent way to put it, Barbara.
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