Fellah 1922

Ivan Bilibin made this portrait of Fellah in 1922. The monochrome palette and fine detail makes me think he might have used a thin brush and ink to build up the image. You can see the build-up of lines creating the tones of the subject’s face and clothing. I wonder what the artist saw in this person? The subject's face is full of character and experience. Look at the depth of the shadows around the man’s eyes and mouth, and the way the light catches his beard. It seems like Bilibin was interested in realism, but I can see a similar approach in the work of artists like Kathe Kollwitz. The tonal hatching builds a sensitivity and emotional effect through the way light falls on the figure. What does he think? These artists are in conversation across time. The embodied expression embraces ambiguity, and allows for multiple interpretations.