My favorite “genre” in the visual arts is the portrait; especially works that reveal psychological aspects of the sitter. Choice of the title of the portrait can sometimes offer me additional insight into the portrayed, engaging my interest and evaluation in a deeper, more meaningful looking experience. “Religious Girl,” 1959 oil on canvas by Alice Neel, combines my interest in the portrayal of women and the religious experience from a feminine perspective.
The sitter, an unnamed young woman, is an acquaintance of the artist’s son Richard. Neel’s unflinchingly honest portrayal looks and feels cramped. We see her figure from the waist up, arms folded, hands are pinched beneath her partially bare arms and burnt red/orange blouse with a stark white peter pan collar; her head leans toward the left, eyes cast up at the ceiling.
Her skin is ruddy and uneven, brown hair, parted to the side, eyes are a light yellowish green, framed by thickly arched, dark eyebrows. Her terse, closed lips, the folded arms, a gaze that refuses to meet the viewer is not welcoming.
What Neel captures is exposed partially in her unidealized, unposed portrait; a private moment, her body language, a reluctance to share her inner spiritual landscape with us. Her avoidance of accouterments, like a crucifix or other icons further distances her willingness to reveal her faith. Am I witnessing a moment of ecstatic spirituality?
Learn more about American painter Alice Neel at http://www.aliceneel.com