Page 218 - Maxim_Painting_Monograph

Vladika Nicholai, acrylic on canvas, 2023
This portrait is captivating, with its vi- brant colors and swift depiction of clothing folds. The artist has adeptly expressed the subject’s eyes, demon- strating the skill expected of an experi- enced painter, particularly in the ren- dering of the nose. The subject’s gaze possesses an inexplicable quality, vital to any serious portrait. This is likely a portrayal of Bishop Nicholai, repre- sented here as a colossus—in spirit. The artist recounts a moment when the Bishop suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs and fixed a deep, meaningful gaze. In that instant, it felt as if the planets had stopped moving, time had frozen, and the space around them had turned to stone. The Bishop’s unspo- ken message was conveyed not through words but through his intense gaze, which the artist has successfully cap- tured. This realization awakened the artist. The success of this portrait lies in its ability to convey more than just a physical likeness, demonstrating the miraculous power of painting to reveal deep mysteries of existence and noth- ingness with just a few brushstrokes.
— Stamatis Skliris
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