Gold and Steel
By
Helen Latham
2017
Oil on linen 60cmx60cm
Looking at portraits of women in the 17th Century I was struck by the lack of real personality in them: they are stylised and formulaic - a mere comment on the wealth of the possession/person and nothing to do with the character. What would the women themselves have wanted? Subtle signs of rebellion, like a clenched fist, or a wilder dress colour - I've done that for them and us.
Here the focus is on the limp hand holding the weight of the satin, the face has been removed - no need for the actual woman to face up to the viewer, her wealth is conveyed without her.
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