Anatoly Zverev, Portrait of Oksana Aseeva, 1982

Additional Information

The portrait depicts Anatoly Zverev's lover and muse, Oksana Aseeva. While Oksana was 39 years older than Anatolij, in the many portraits of her that the artist painted, she always appears youthful. Of this Anatolij Zverev said: "I paint her soul, and her soul is young".

In this portrait, the artist squeezes paint straight from the tube onto the canvas, then manipulates it with small tolls and brushes. Yet, in some places, the oil paint is left as is, creating a vibrating tension on the surface.