Viola and the birds

Viola and the birds is a tondo: a circular composition within a square canvas. A woman with short hair lowers her eyes and smiles faintly while white doves gather at her chest and shoulder, against a deep black ground. Her white top is drawn down to its perforated pattern.

The circular format carries centuries of devotional painting behind it and turns the portrait into something closer to an icon. Ritchelly Oliveira works the face, the feathers and the fabric in charcoal with sustained control, letting the dark ground close the circle around the figure.

Unique work, charcoal and acrylic on canvas, 100 × 100 cm (39.4 × 39.4 in). Born in Brazil in 1993 and trained in Visual Arts at the Federal University of Goiás, Ritchelly Oliveira has worked with the human figure since 2012. His work has been exhibited in Goiânia, Berlin, Miami, New York and Los Angeles, including the solo exhibition Fragility at La Brea Studio in 2023, and has appeared in international art publications such as Beautiful Bizarre.

Available for private viewing at Tilsitt Gallery in Porto, or worldwide delivery upon inquiry.