Study: My Mother and the Cross

Celia Paul’s most frequent sitter over the past twenty years has been her mother. Here she is portrayed gazing out of a window. The title of the painting alludes to her mother’s Christian faith, and the symbolism of the cross is implied by the bars of the window. A spiritual atmosphere is suggested by the evocative handling of light and space.

Celia Paul’s portraits of her mother are usually painted in dense layers of thick oil paint, giving them a monumental presence. However, in this ‘study’, she uses thin washes and rapid brush marks which reveal her powerful drawing skills.