Portrait of Aunt Pepa 1942

Rafael Zabaleta painted his ‘Portrait of Aunt Pepa’ with oil on canvas, using short, deliberate brushstrokes. It feels like Zabaleta approached this painting with a genuine affection for his subject. The thick, textured paint, built up layer upon layer, gives Aunt Pepa a solidity, a real presence. I bet Zabaleta thought hard about how to depict her. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, and then lunging forward to add a daub of ochre here, a stroke of teal there. The colours are earthy, yet there are surprising pops of vivid blue. That determined line of her mouth, those knowing eyes. He must have known her well. The way he’s painted her, a book open on the table, a cat curled on her lap, suggests a life of quiet contemplation, perhaps with a little mischief thrown in. It feels like a conversation, a subtle nod to the tradition of portraiture, but with Zabaleta's own unique voice, which always make you think of what other artists have done before. It’s like he is saying, "I see you, Aunt Pepa, and I celebrate your quiet strength."