Flirt

A young woman in a yellow headscarf and embroidered blue bodice coyly frames her face while a moustached man in a straw hat and red sash leans in behind her, against a dark green ground. The two figures carry the picture between them, and much of its charm lies in what passes between them. A glance, a gesture or a shared moment turns the scene into a small story to come back to.

Its palette, measured from the canvas, is led by greige, with ink and chocolate in support: a mid-toned, warm picture. Those warm tones give it a glow that comes alive in lamplight and deepens as the evening draws in. The tall format leads the eye from top to bottom, so the details reward a second and a third look.

A tall canvas like this one suits a narrow wall: a hallway, the space beside a bookcase or a doorway, or the wall between two windows. It is a tender choice for a bedroom or a quiet corner of the living room. Greige and ink are easy to echo in cushions, a throw or a painted wall nearby, and it holds its own in a mixed gallery wall.

Federico Andreotti made the original before 1930; in the collection it is listed under Modern. It belongs to the modern era, when painters loosened the old rules of drawing and colour to say more with less. This painting is printed to order on gallery-wrapped canvas in 30 × 40 cm or 40 × 60 cm, from the image you see here. The canvas wraps around its frame, so it arrives ready to hang, with no framing needed. Want yourself in it instead? Add a photo and see your portrait free before you order.