Portret van Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi c. 1788 - 1793

This is Dominique Vivant Denon's portrait of Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi, created as an etching. The oval shape and the sitter's gaze are the strongest elements, immediately drawing you in. Isabella’s dark hair, rendered with a tight weave of lines, contrasts with the expansive, empty space around her. Her figure appears to float, her features rendered with an almost scientific level of detail. Denon’s deliberate use of negative space transforms the portrait into a study of contrasts, highlighting the delicate balance between presence and absence, form and void. The clean, precise strokes of the etching emphasize the subject's features, presenting her as both an individual and an object of aesthetic scrutiny. The portrait plays with the viewer's perception, challenging conventional notions of representation and reality. It is a testament to the artist's capacity to challenge viewers' perceptions and promote introspection through composition and form.