Madame Noire 2011

Amy Sherald created "Madame Noire" with oil on canvas. Look at that cadmium red ground, the way it shimmers like heat rising off pavement. And those figures, rendered in grisaille, those flat grey planes. I imagine Amy Sherald in the studio, mixing those greys, considering how the red ground will shift the tones, adding a subtle glow to the skin, while the pale clothing picks up this glow. There’s a knowing in this painting, a conversation with Manet, maybe, or even Magritte. Sherald's working on this, and thinking, "How can I make this strange figure inhabit this space?" The flat planes of color, that high-key palette—it’s all about creating an emotional resonance, a vibration. Each gesture is considered, the way the figure holds the cane, the tilt of the hat, how the face is angled toward the light. The way we see the world, the way we feel – it’s all in conversation with the paintings that came before.