The surprising, portrait of Justine B.
huile sur toile, 100x100cm Coll. particulière
Painting the portrait of someone very close is the most unsettling, difficult, and moving thing. Because the stakes of resemblance are at their peak. Not the resemblance of the selfie, obviously, which is only a mechanical and statistical resemblance (especially since most selfie cameras produce an image from several shots, “correcting” shapes according to a programmed standard), no, the real resemblance, which involves the gaze, and for the painter, manifestly, the gaze and the body (the gesture of the hand). I like the portrait in “medium shot” (as they say in cinema) because the subject’s body is also involved, the stature of the person indicating as much, and sometimes even more, than the features. Because for me, presence is the secret to all resemblance.”