Woman in a Leather Jacket
Oil on canvas · 50 × 80 cm · 2019
After experimenting with tools in oil — I liked the technique a lot, but found the subject deadly dull — it dawned on me: people are far more interesting. I’m generally fascinated by 1920s art, especially New Objectivity, and wanted to try a portrait in that style.
In an exhibition, I had seen Lady in Fur, a 1925 painting by Wilhelm Lachnit. I didn’t want to paint an exact copy, though — I wondered instead how she might look today. I don’t know much about the woman herself, but she was plausibly a flapper, to use the English term for the Weimar Republic’s modern, liberated women.
She surely wouldn’t wear fur today. And “Lady” — duh. Leather jacket instead of fur, “Woman” instead of “Lady” — hence the title “Woman in a Leather Jacket”. Of course, my version doesn’t come close to the original’s quality, but this isn’t a competition anyway — I just did it for the joy of experimenting with the technique, and as a learning experience.