Game On* by Jack Vettriano

This poignant work illustrates the brilliance of modern figuration through a placing in abyme of carnal intimacy. Jack Vettriano signs here a composition of a rare emotional strength under the designation “Game On”. His pictorial universe explores buried desires and loving impulses with an equivalentless dramatic audacity. By concentrating the framing exclusively on the intertwined bodies, the artist offers a hypnotic dive into the heart of a passionate and timeless embrace.

The vertical composition tightens the attention on the burning embrace of two lovers standing against a warm brown wall. The man wears an immaculate white shirt with slightly rolled-up sleeves and dark suspenders highlighting his build. His hand rests firmly on the revealed thigh of his partner in an impulse of possession. The young woman, dressed in a very short black sheath, raises her arms upward, her joined hands resting against the wall. Her shapely legs are highlighted by black nylon stockings and suggestive suspender belts. An oblique beam of light caresses the silhouettes, carving the profiles of the lovers and magnifying the raw sensuality of their face-to-face.

The prodigious know-how of the artist transpires in his meticulous treatment of oil and his admirable management of chiaroscuro. Jack Vettriano sculpts the bodies with a striking realism, capturing the texture of the skin under dim lighting. This careful work confers an incomparable visual strength to this sensual work.