Self-Portrait in Gold and Shadow

Half the face dissolves into deep black while the other half is struck by hard white light, the sunglasses catching the join. A gold brocade shawl and a small cruciform pendant glow against slate-blue and gilded vertical bands.

To the right a bee and a cricket hang in the empty coloured field, painted with entomological care. The handling is bold and graphic, favouring tonal drama over fine detail, and the guarded, backlit head set among gold and insects gives the portrait an iconic, almost devotional charge.