Galena 

Sofia Bonati made this portrait, Galena, with digital painting techniques sometime in the 20th Century. It is likely that she used a stylus to create the image, drawing on a graphics tablet. The artist’s technique gives this image a flat, graphic quality. The composition is built up with a limited palette to evoke a world of the subject's own creation. Bonati builds on the traditions of illustration and portraiture, as well as commercial design. Here, the lines of the grid, the solid dark ground, and the matte coloring flatten and compress the picture plane. The result is a fascinating image, which emphasizes surface over depth. In its making and appearance, the work cleverly skirts the boundaries of fine art and illustration. By paying attention to these processes and contexts, we can appreciate the unique qualities of Galena.