I hung this painting by my window, which adds an extra dynamic to it because the weather outside changes the meaning. When it’s raining, it looks like the woman is putting her umbrella up and when it’s sunny, it looks like she’s bringing her umbrella down to bask in the sunlight. This is enhanced by the white highlights around her clothes, which can make her dress look wet, as if it’s just started raining, or like light is shining off it because the sun has come out. It’s a painting for all weathers (except perhaps snow).
Another great aspect of this picture is the dark background, which consists of browns, greys and purples. This complements the woman’s hair and overall helps the vibrant blue of the dress, pop. There is some detail behind the figure, such as a window below the umbrella, Fedchenko could have just left the background plain brown and flat, but that extra little bit of detail adds to the story and leaves us wondering where the woman is now, where she came from, and where she’s going. This is all left open to interpretation and the imagination of the viewer.
Finally, the natural wooden frame the painting came in looks and feels as if it’s been rained on but now dried out, leaving a mottled texture which fits the painting’s theme perfectly. The piece is finished by Fedchenko’s signature which is very artistic, with incredible flourishes and an intricacy that as a graphic designer, I’ve got to admire. When looking for information about Larissa Alpatova-Fedchenko, I couldn’t find much out there and she doesn’t have a website, but I am very glad this hangs on my wall and I think it will do so for a very long time indeed.