Marocco

A woman with loose auburn hair and a beaded turquoise necklace stands frontally, wrapped in a heavily patterned striped shawl of red, ochre, blue and yellow zigzags. She holds a string of dark beads in her clasped hands, framed by a pale vertical panel and flanked by dense wall hangings covered in geometric mosaic-like motifs, small figures and roundels.

The palette is dominated by rust, ochre and deep turquoise, applied in thick, textured layers that read almost like woven or tiled surfaces. Her face and hands are modeled more softly and directly lit, creating a contrast between naturalistic portraiture and the flattened, richly decorative pattern that surrounds her.