Venere Sipontina

"Venere Sipontina" is one of 26 paintings that make up the “Grey Series” (1985-88) by Wolfgang Lettl.

The basic concept of each painting is the framing box. An image supposedly painted on paper is stuck to its back. Various objects are lying on the frame.
Different variations of a classic style element of surrealism are used experimentally in this series:

Paint objects that don't go together in an unreal space, and you will get surprising compositions that may be more or less meaningful.

Here Wolfgang Lettl painted an impressionistic-style nude of his wife and beloved, Franziska, for the background.

These were his comments: "Having your own wife for a model is ideal, she is always available, and if something is missing in a painting, you can always have your wife lying there, she always looks good. With time you get to know her by heart, so you don’t need a model at all anymore, or very rarely for some detail. Clothespins, too, are always available to me, but although they have beautiful colours and lie still so nicely, they cannot compete with my Venus."