Meant less that he’d fully painted over elements, and more his revisions regarding the hand closest to us, his head, the back of the shoulder, the farthest breast. Also the arm farthest from us likely wasn’t visible in fact, but there’s a tension with it being unseen, similar to when an artist elects to not use foreshortening. I like that he’s grappled with resolving these questions and hasn’t hidden the struggle from us.
Reminds me of a scan of Vermeer’s Milkmaid that shows deleted elements, painted over, included a basket at her feet, and a jug rack at head level.
Meant less that he’d fully painted over elements, and more his revisions regarding the hand closest to us, his head, the back of the shoulder, the farthest breast. Also the arm farthest from us likely wasn’t visible in fact, but there’s a tension with it being unseen, similar to when an artist elects to not use foreshortening. I like that he’s grappled with resolving these questions and hasn’t hidden the struggle from us.