Anais 2015

Sofia Bonati made this artwork, Anais, using pencil and watercolor. It presents a portrait of a woman adorned with monarch butterflies. Look how the vivid orange hues and contrasting black lines define the geometric shapes of the dress and headscarf. I can just imagine Bonati’s hand carefully layering the watercolor washes, building up the intensity of the orange, and then precisely adding the black lines with a fine-tipped brush. What's so nice is the tension between the patterned and the soft, such as in the woman's face. It reminds me of the precision of David Hockney. The two butterfly wings, which act as a headdress, give the portrait a touch of the surreal. Bonati probably wanted to invite us into a whimsical world where humans and nature coexist. It feels very much like the kind of thing Hilma af Klint was trying to do. Ultimately, it’s a captivating exploration of identity, transformation, and the delicate balance between the natural and human worlds.