2012
Egg tempera on wood
30 x 80 (diptych)
A diptych emerges as a form of soliloquies in which the sacred imagery of the Quattrocento collides with the contemporary conceptual gesture of haute couture, patterns, laces and textile. At the center of the composition, a canonical female figure by Piero della Francesca comes into view, discernible by the almond-shaped, downcast eyes, the perfect arch of the brows, and the flawless oval of the face. This is a direct quotation from Piero’s plethora of Madonnas, including the frescoes in Arezzo and Monterchi, as well as the altarpieces from Urbino and Milan. Smirnoff draws on the master’s asceticism: the model’s face conveys absolute impassivity, acting as an unshakable axis that holds together the vortex of expressive color planes in the background. The work alludes to the world of high fashion, serving as a kind of homage to the Italian ‘traditional feminine black’ look, reminiscent of D&G and Prada. Smirnoff overlays the classical Renaissance references with an ultra-delicate decorative veil that covers the model’s face in an intricate ornamental pattern. This veil functions as a conceptual boundary, not only linking religious iconography with contemporary cultural imagery but also serving as the artist’s favourite ploy for juxtaposition between the visible and the concealed. The facial features are partially depicted, as if in a dream, drawing the image into a realm of imagination (resonant with the work of Barry X Ball). The diptych structure, in which the seam between the two panels runs precisely in the middle and cuts the image in half, somewhat underscores Piero’s mathematical precision.