The Conversation, Capri 1933

Alexandre Jacovleff painted ‘The Conversation, Capri’ using a mix of muted blues and blacks, with pops of warmer colors in the objects on the door. I wonder if the painting came together quickly, or if it took longer. Maybe Jacovleff reworked the composition, letting the figures emerge bit by bit? I’m imagining he was trying to convey the feeling of a private moment, a quiet exchange between two people. It looks like the paint is applied in thin layers, which gives the scene a dreamlike, almost faded quality. The weight of the woman who is standing, and the way her gaze seems fixed on the other woman is so carefully observed, as if the artist had really spent some time considering the human form and how it expresses feeling. And I love that he included those colorful objects on the door, maybe they are souvenirs. Ultimately, Jacovleff is continuing an artistic conversation that’s been going on for centuries, looking at the everyday, the intimate, and finding something meaningful there.