Lines and Colors art blog

Eye Candy for Today: Joseph Coomans portrait

Portrait of a young woman, Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans, oil on canvas
Portrait of a young woman, Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans, oil on canvas (details)

Portrait of a Young Woman, Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans (1816-1871), oil on canvas, 19 x 15 in. (48 x 38 cm). The link is to the Wikimedia Commons page from which you can view or download a large image. The image source is a 2017 Bonham’s auction, so I assume the painting is in a private collection.

Beautifully and delicately rendered, this portrait is an exercise in softly turned transitions, soft edges and carefully controlled color and value relationships.

I love the little splashes of light on her hair and costume, and even on the ends of the eyelashes on the lower lid of her right eye (to our left, images above, second from top).

Look at the simple, painterly brush strokes that make up the highlights on her hair.

Link:

Portrait of a Young Woman, Wikimedua Commons


Comments

2 responses to “Eye Candy for Today: Joseph Coomans portrait”

  1. Really mesmerizing work. What I cant get over is the bounce light on the left side of her face, and how in modern times we could rely on photos for this, but over 100 years ago getting the lighting just right to keep that a consistent element would have take a bit of effort and imagination.

    1. Thanks, Michael. Yes, we don’t often think about the difficulties pre-electric lighting artists had with balancing light and color.

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