And now for something completey different: Vesta – 2026-07-22. This pastel pencil endeavour guides me further along a path of new possibilities. Last one ‘Cubism in Recline. – 2026-7-20’ gives away the styling. I like riding that cubist wave. Defining cubist planes led to discovering new ways of using the background for the mid-tones. This time I had something else in mind. It’s a project I that I kept in a folder waiting to be picked up by me. About time!
Sheer Vestal Beauties
Last year I became intrigued again by sheer clothing and veils. They are mysterious and sensual, hiding secrets. I remember how fun it was to do ‘Sheer Deco Nude – 2022-10-14’ on Ingres paper. Even though the sheerness is only showing on the head, I always thought of a follow-up. Surely it’s this one. Thinking of ‘sheer’ carries me back to my school days at the Gymnasium. My love for Latin and Greek never disappeared and anyone that has children, please consider a classic education for them. Part of it is Roman history, of which vestal virgins are part of. With their ‘stolae candidae’ and ‘infulae’ they must have been a sight to see. Imagine if people wore such veils in public nowadays. Would they, or should they? Perhaps not a bad idea. Then again, their ignorance displayed without shame could yet be another veil. One that covers fear.
Avoiding a Fishnet
Pictures of vestal virgins are scarce, even absent on the internet. Well, some drawings but I wasn’t looking for them. Just a woman under a veil. Eventually, I found one, but it wasn’t what I was looking for, even though it had some useful aspects. First and foremost, I wanted to have the veil fall over the hairline quite smoothly. The result is an interpretation of my own, using the reference picture as an inspirational source. The sheerness I just fantasized. If the weaving were too course, then it only would look like a fishnet pattern. Too fine, then viewers wouldn’t be convinced they were looking at a veil. Finally, I got it right and I let the hands contrast the face under the veil. That is why the shadows under the hands are quite dark and facial features are rendered in a small tonal bandwidth.
Technical Details
Pastel pencil drawing on Ami Sketching paper (‘KBB’) – 29.7 x 21 cm
Artist: Corné Akkers
