Focus on this artwork and explore the Content.
The unfinished painting displays only the naked body of an androgynous figure lying horizontally, grasping a letter and a red, white, and blue cockade. Bara's body separates the composition horizontally, dividing the background and foreground. The body stands mostly alone; a small silhouette on the far left provides the only details alluding to the narrative of the stolen horses.The desolate image suggests a cold winter, with the tones of gray and brown forming a tumultuous and undefined backdrop. The massive space of scumbling above the figure of Bara contrasts with the smooth pale skin, lacking any sign of injury or blood. Bara's intact body proves his innocence through what the art historian Dorothy Johnson describes as "beauty without disruption"; the only implication of pain is Bara's tortured expression. While experts disagree on whether or not the painting is fully finished, a thin brown pigment made from a mixture of oil paint and thinner in a technique that is referred to as frotté, significant for its application in the early stages of the painting process, suggests the painting was incomplete.
scumbling androgynous