Portrait of Godl 1957 - 1961

Editor: Here we have Anatoli Kaplan's "Portrait of Godl," a lithograph created between 1957 and 1961. The texture is what immediately strikes me. The granular surface and stark contrast give it an almost ghostly presence. What do you see in this piece from a formalist perspective? Curator: Indeed. Observe how the artist uses dense, vertical hatching to define the background, a field of visual energy that both surrounds and seemingly penetrates the figure. The lithographic technique lends itself well to this, creating a palpable tension between figure and ground. Editor: So it’s the technique itself that is creating this specific affect? Curator: Precisely. Note the figure's flattened, almost mask-like quality. The heavy outlining and stark value contrasts—areas of dense black juxtaposed with unmodulated white—serve to emphasize the two-dimensional surface of the print. The strategic use of chiaroscuro directs the eye to the face, the locus of the portrait. Consider also the collar, how its textural detail contrasts with the relative flatness of the face and the boldness of the dark shoulder line, dividing the space. Does it remind you of other works of the time? Editor: It reminds me of other expressionist prints, in the way the artist prioritizes communicating an emotional or psychological state rather than a strictly mimetic likeness. I’ve never noticed that this can also come through such deliberate surface contrast and line quality, as you point out! Curator: Formal analysis reveals how Kaplan constructs meaning through purely visual means: the tension between depth and flatness, light and shadow, texture and line. The effect is unsettling. I would add that while the work can appear realistic, it takes on symbolic significance when viewing it in light of Russian non-conformist art. Editor: Thank you, that has significantly sharpened my perception of this piece.