Portrait of Jonathan Swift
A heavy silence settles over the canvas. The subject sits in a high-backed chair, a figure of quiet authority carved from shadow and light. He is draped in voluminous white sleeves that catch the light like fresh snow against the dark, indeterminate void behind him. His clerical attire, a white rochet paired with a black chimere, speaks of a life lived within the strictures of religious and academic discipline. The…










