Provenance: Private Collection, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

Juvenal Sanso may be known for his depictions of otherworldly landscapes, but his highly descriptive figuration marked the beginning of his artistic career. In this work, he revisits the familiar terrain of portraiture, but this time characterized with a flourish of expressionistic brushwork, made luminous by the medium of watercolor. The portrait features the profile of an unidentified woman, the outline of her dress deftly melting into the background. The lines around her eyes indicate that she is of a certain age, but the ribbon and the flower in her hair suggest that she is still a person of vivacity, agency, and whimsy — evoked by the confident hand of the artist at the height of his power.