Old Womanc. 1923–24
In the nearly 200 portraits Chaïm Soutine painted, he was remarkably consistent in his approach:he almost always painted solitary, unidentified models, seated in half- or three-quarter-length poses facing frontally with hands placed on the hips or folded in the lap, as seen here. More about this work
About this work
In the nearly 200 portraits Chaïm Soutine painted, he was remarkably consistent in his approach:he almost always painted solitary, unidentified models, seated in half- or three-quarter-length poses facing frontally with hands placed on the hips or folded in the lap, as seen here. The physical distortions—the woman’s large hands, arched green eyebrows, and pointed chin—executed with agitated, slashing brushstrokes heighten the portrait’s expressive qualities. The sitter here is remarkably similar to the figure in another Soutine portrait of a schoolteacher named Melanie at the Columbus Museum of Art.
Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Chaïm Soutine
Russian, 1893–1943
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Cleveland Museum of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1988.94
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
