Charmer in the Season Mist off Lead

What is a portrait ? Beyond the inevitable face, artists have on occasion thought of a landscape that evokes a certain state of mind, a still life — a bouquet of flowers with hidden symbolism, for example — or an allegorical scene as a portrait or self-portrait. Such is the case with this mysterious painting by Victor Man, which combines a childhood memory with a metaphorical self-portrait. The scene unfolds in places familiar from the painter's youth: a white, bowed horse crosses paths with a snake, imbuing the canvas with a mythological dimension and an impenetrable fable-like atmosphere.