Contemporary Artist: Jerome Witkin

"Jeff Davies" (top left)
      Jerome Witkin likes to paint realistic figures in realistic but grungy looking settings.  He is also known for a lot of work relating to or about the Holocaust.  This piece is a simple portrait of a common working man who seems to be quite overweight with the addition of a thick coat.  The fabric is painted very well and out of focus areas are left to show a sense of depth in an interesting way.


"Are You Here?" (right)
      The story behind this painting is that Witkin was trying to find the proper pose for his most beautifl model but had failed to do so until she broke pose and casually turned her gaze away when he quickly captured the moment.  I love the scatter of arbitrary objects that gives the studio space the feel of most every studio space I have worked in.  The high level of detail and still life starts to flatten the image as a whole, though.


"The German Girl" (bottom left)
      This nightmarish painting is one of Witkin's Holocaust themed works that suggests the ghosts of the past have returned to haunt the young girl.  This may suggest that there are deeds to be answered for or horrible things gone forgotten that need to be remembered.