Classic Portrait

Classic Portrait is a 2010 acrylic on canvas by Walt Viviers — a figurative work that demonstrates the technical facility with portraiture that would become a hallmark of his practice. The subject, rendered in warm flesh tones against a dusky blue-purple ground, gazes upward and away from the viewer, the pose conveying a sense of aspiration or quiet introspection. The modelling of light across the face recalls classical academic technique, while Viviers' assured brushwork grounds the work in his own direct voice. Signed in 2010, this painting belongs to an important formative period in the Pretoria-based South African artist's development, when he was building the figurative language that underpins his mature practice. Enquire for acquisition details.