[Study for Portrait of Carlos Paredes]

In «Estudo para Retrato de Carlos Paredes» [Study for a Portrait of Carlos Paredes], from 2002, Júlio Pomar portrays the musician Carlos Paredes - of whom he was an unconditional admirer - playing the Portuguese guitar. In this drawing on tracing paper, the artist captures the fusion between the musician and the instrument, making them appear almost as a single entity.

The drawing can also be understood in light of a «translation and intermingling of languages» - sonic and musical, visual and textual - in which the letters forming the musician’s name, as if detaching themselves from the guitar, surround his head, blending with his hair and giving it a musical quality.