Juana

Interpretations of the Portrait (Interpretaciones al Retrato) is one of Serrano's most personal series. It is the one he worked on the most throughout his career after starting it in 1955 at the end of his Uruguayan phase. He approached a genre most associated with academics from expressionist angles and did not seek to make the pieces look exactly like their physical counterparts in order to capture the personality of the person portrayed. Even though he did not follow his characteristic expressionist gestuality in his interpretation of the portrait of Juana Francés, Serrano remains faithful to his personal method of realizing the portrait genre, presenting soft features which give form to her chin and upturned nose. It could be said that Serrano applies the facial expression in a very restrained manner when representing her mouth, reduced to a tiny horizontal incision so small that it seems impossible to be able to talk with her. This restrained gesture also appears in her eyes, with a sad look, which he again draws with a pointed object. Both features have an introspective, melancholy appearance: softness is not always synonymous with carefree happiness. It is only in her hair, gathered in a ponytail, and in her neck where Serrano's characteristic clay-work is apparent.