succession

"Succession" is part of an ongoing attempt by me to push the limits of my technical skill in oil painting, as well as to include a narrative open to interpretation.
This painting is a meditation on legacy, and explores the quiet yet powerful shift of agency and identity across time. Succession isn't always linear - it can be a reclamation.
A formerly indentured figure sits before a grand portrait of her presumed employer, and the visual hierarchy portrays the past as literally behind her, allowing history to serve as context rather than constraint.
I intended this piece to be a study in grace, and transformation, and I have layered the oils to portray subtle contrasts between the old and the new.
Dignity can be conveyed not only through grandeur, but through quiet defiance.
The conception of "Succession" emerged from a fascination with historical power dynamics and the silent resilience of those relegated to the background.