Anna

2003

Oil on canvas

70 x 60 x 3 cm (27 9/16 x 23 5/8 x 1 3/16 in.)

A half-length, three-quarter portrait is in a conventional frame. The figure stretches her hands out in front of her, as if they are the burned objects of her interest. Her bright red dress stands out against the dull palette surrounding her in a non-descript, timeless setting.

In his paintings, Belgian visual artist Michaël Borremans creates quasi-photographic scenes that, through a clever play of light and dark, seem to come from an undefined past. They are a place for a deep pictorial demonstration and reflection, as shown here by the confusion between the background and the hands and the figure’s size amidst the dark tones and impasto that blend together.

Borremans' Anna was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the exhibition "Mapping the Studio" (2009-2011) at the Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi in Venice.
Exhibitions