Portrait of Virginia Woolf

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Leeds Gallery Museum (the UK).

This is a portrait of writer Virginia Woolf, a sister of artist Vanessa Bell – both women were in love with the author of the picture. Perhaps the sad look of the model speaks of an unrequited feeling (Fry chose Vanessa). The artist did not use any clear contours, like in the outlines of her face, for depicting her figure; the model’s shoulders and arms are somewhat merged with the background. This technique allowed the master to focus on the expressive appearance of Virginia, who highly appreciated the artist’s intellect. The writer said, “He had more knowledge and experience than all the others together”.