The Hours Between

This image declares its debt to the history of the reclining figure more openly than anything else in my body of work. The Victorian sofa with its carved crest rail and tufted upholstery provides the visual grammar of a period painting. The lace garment splits the difference between clothed and not, maintaining the formality the furniture demands.

The round bolster cushion with its tassel gives the head a natural elevation that turns a recline into a presentation. The hair cascading over the sofa arm creates a visual spillover that prevents the composition from feeling contained by the furniture's edges.

I lit from above and slightly camera left with a single large softbox, creating an even wash that references studio portraiture rather than the dramatic chiaroscuro of the Figure Study work. The subject is not the light. The subject is the relationship between a body and a piece of furniture designed, a hundred and fifty years ago, for exactly this purpose.