The artwork titled “Martine,” created by Julian Schnabel in 1987, is an exemplary piece within the Neo-Expressionism art movement. This portrait, characterized by its dynamic and textured style, embodies the emotional intensity and raw aesthetic commonly associated with the movement.
The artwork, executed with a bold and vigorous application of paint, illustrates a figure with rich and expressive detail. The figure’s attire, marked by a nurse’s cap inscribed with “RN,” suggests a depiction of an individual in the nursing profession. The textured surface of the artwork, created through impasto techniques and possibly the incorporation of unconventional materials, conveys a rugged yet evocative essence. The interplay of colors, with prominent yellows and whites against darker tones, enhances the facial features and imbues the portrait with a sense of depth and complexity. This synthesis of form, texture, and color captures a moment suffused with nuanced emotion, aligning with the Neo-Expressionist ethos of delivering profound human experience through art.