The image of Beatrice. Illustration to Dante "Vita Nova" 1965

Curator: Here we have Hryhorii Havrylenko's "The image of Beatrice. Illustration to Dante 'Vita Nova'," created in 1965 using ink on paper. Editor: The linework is striking. It creates a really still, almost haunting quality about her gaze. What's your first impression? Curator: My eye is immediately drawn to the deliberate use of hatching and cross-hatching to build volume and shadow. It creates a complex tonal structure, all with simple lines. Editor: Right, Havrylenko really confines his style in this portrait by choosing a limited palette of monochromatic colors, which invites me to explore deeper themes like identity. Dante's Beatrice was this sort of unattainable, idealized figure. Do you think the image portrays her more as an idea than a woman? Curator: I see that interpretation. Given its roots in the modernist style, which prizes flatness and simplification, the figure becomes an almost diagrammatic representation. Her expression is minimal, leaving it open to a range of possible readings. It moves past being simply a mimetic portrayal. Editor: Well, beyond a reading of the stylistic choices, understanding the historical backdrop for a Ukrainian artist working in the Soviet Union, for instance, is vital to grasping how the female figure in this illustration represents cultural resilience under duress. Is this portrait simply the illustration of a figure of female perfection? Or does it attempt to recover aspects of suppressed cultural identity and the desire for artistic self-determination? Curator: That adds another dimension! By engaging the figure of Beatrice, he's not merely illustrating Dante, but engaging a much longer lineage of aesthetic and cultural values. The formal austerity, though, almost contradicts this idea. Editor: I appreciate that, although I still maintain that looking at the context enriches our knowledge of the piece. All these various elements create this depth to its appearance and legacy. Curator: I think you’re right. It has a more profound weight that goes far beyond its surface simplicity. Editor: Absolutely! It's the kind of piece that keeps giving.