Portrait of Julia Parthenis 1914

Konstantinos Parthenis painted "Portrait of Julia Parthenis," likely in oil on canvas, with a tender hand. See how the browns and blacks of Julia's clothing are offset by the peach and green hues of the background, creating an ethereal quality; like a beautiful ghost standing just behind a velvet curtain. The paint handling here is quite delicate. Parthenis' brushwork is soft, not trying to capture every detail, but rather to give us the mood, a felt sense of this person. The frills of her white collar are rendered with gentle, almost fleeting strokes, and this is in contrast to the darker, heavier textures of the fur stole she carries. Her dark hat is enormous, throwing her face into shadow, but illuminating one side, which feels deeply intimate. Think of Whistler, and his atmospheric portraits, but with a kind of dreamlike quality that feels distinctly Parthenis' own. Art is just one long conversation, and it’s lovely to imagine these echoes across time.