Landscape, 1940

The three works which date from the period 1938 - 1940 share a number of similarities in the handling of their subject. It was light which was chiefly of interest to Fofo Kachrimani, and particularly the way in which it is rendered on three different thematic planes. In Nude (1938), she opted for a conservative lineation for the body, leaving some bright openings at the points which are lit. The careful criss-cross engraving forms the frame, while the large black surface serves as the shadow of the body. What stands out in this work is the dynamic white surface around the nude, and it is there that Kachrimani concentrates all the light of the composition. She worked on Flowers, of 1940, in a similar fashion. The design of the flowers is particularly careful, a feature which is repeated on the vase, the table, and the background. Thus here there is no contrast between subject and background, simply a continuity between them. The bright white also functions here, but gives rise to less elation.