A work of raw, primal power, where familial connection is explored through the language of Art Brut.
A looming, heavy-set adult and a small child hold hands before a backdrop of crude, imposing architecture, their forms rendered with a fierce, expressive distortion. The artist works the paint in rough, scraped layers over a raw canvas, using a sombre palette of blacks and ochres that evokes the feeling of a primal cave painting. This is not a sentimental portrait, but a deeply felt, almost brutal exploration of vulnerability and dependence; the simple gesture of holding hands becomes a monumental act in a stark and unforgiving world.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscription on Front: Signed and dated 'Goethals '77' lower right.
Condition: Unframed. The canvas is tacked to its original stretcher, with the unprimed edges left exposed as part of the artist's process. The paint surface is stable, with a rough, varied texture.
