Before the End 1990

Morteza Katouzian painted this portrait of a child in an atmospheric wash of lavender and mauve. The way the paint is worked here, especially the rendering of the boy's face, is like a masterclass in the value of layering and glazing. See how Katouzian builds up the color in thin, transparent coats. It's almost like he's chasing the light, trying to capture that fleeting moment when a child's face is filled with wonder. The boy, an unfinished figure traced in brown, gazes up into a sky of stormy purples. The softness of the brushstrokes and the dreamlike quality of the scene reminds me of Symbolist painters like Odilon Redon, who sought to capture the inner world of dreams and emotions. The boy is looking toward the future, which is of course unknown. It makes me wonder about the stories art can tell without even trying.