Face of old lady

Luigi Nono's 'Face of an Old Lady' (1887) belongs to his series of observational figure studies that complemented his elaborate genre compositions. The aged face as a subject carried particular artistic prestige — the challenge of rendering the visible marks of time on a human face with honest observation rather than conventional idealization was valued as a demonstration of the painter's commitment to truth. Nono's aged subjects show the same quality of sympathetic directness that characterized his best portraits of specific individuals.

Nono renders the aged face with careful attention to the specific ways time marks a woman's features — the skin's changed texture, the deeper lines, the particular quality of light on the aged cheek and brow. His academic technique is directed toward truthful observation rather than conventional flattery, the old woman's face given the same serious pictorial attention as his younger and more fashionable subjects.