Profile 2000

Carlo Maria Mariani painted 'Profile' with delicate watercolour washes, where blues, browns, and rosy hues meet to describe the head of a woman. I'm thinking about the artist here, gently coaxing that portrait into existence on the page. Did he step back, squint, adjust the angle of his brush, and then, with a breath, add another translucent layer? I know that feeling, when each stroke carries the weight of the whole enterprise! The curls of her hair – see how they're both defined and blurry? – they remind me that painting isn't about perfect replication, but about feeling and interpreting. The artist takes something from history and, in his own way, makes it relevant again. And that's the amazing thing about painting – each artist adds their voice to a conversation that has been going on forever, where the past and present get stirred together, making something totally new.