At Anna’s, a gift for her sister
Two sisters, a family photograph, and a portrait making a temporary stop among Anna’s books and pictures.
The portrait above Anna’s console is not staying. For now, though, it looks at home among the books, smaller pictures and ceramics in her Paris apartment. A copy of the photograph that inspired it sits below. Anna and her sister have been looking at the two together.
The young woman in them is their grandmother. She sits upright in a dark dress, one hand on a closed book, looking directly at the camera. The sisters know later photographs better, but Anna remembered how often her sister returned to this one.
That made it a good starting point for a gift. Anna told her sister about the idea before commissioning the portrait. They could choose the image together, and her sister could think about where it would go. The surprise was less important than knowing she wanted to live with it.
The original image in the story is black and white. It shows the dress, the hair and the hand on the book, but not their colors. Anna discussed a monochrome painting and a restrained color version with Lucien at Atelier Vigée. She chose the latter: a dark dress, grey-brown surroundings and warmth in the face, understood as an interpretation rather than recovered family history.
The direct gaze stayed. So did the closed book, whose title neither sister knows. There was no need to give their grandmother a favorite author on the strength of an unreadable cover.
Before the painting leaves for her sister’s home, it hangs above Anna’s narrow console, between the bookcase and fireplace. The sofa faces it, and there is a chair nearby for looking through the family pictures together.
Anna will send a copy of the photograph with the portrait. Her sister can keep the two within reach, as they are here.
Have someone in mind?
Start with the person or pet you would like painted, a few photographs, and a preferred size. The atelier will help you consider the composition.
Begin Your Portrait
