Artistic Appreciation

The noir-silhouette palette, with its dramatic reduction of form to shadow and light, creates a portrait of remarkable power and mystery. The near-absence of detail places extraordinary emphasis on the silhouette -- the quality of the line, the grace of the pose, the elegance of the form. Vargas rises to the challenge with consummate skill, creating a silhouette of remarkable beauty and presence that is instantly recognizable as a Vargas figure despite the lack of detail. The rim lighting, which catches the edges of the figure and gives her definition against the dark background, is rendered with exquisite subtlety through the airbrush medium, with transitions so smooth as to be almost imperceptible. The composition, with its dramatic contrast and minimal detail, creates a sense of mystery and intrigue that draws the viewer in and invites them to complete the image with their own imagination. The overall effect is one of dramatic, mysterious, poetic beauty -- a Hollywood star who represents the ultimate expression of film noir aesthetic, and a testament to Vargas's range as an artist and his ability to create powerful, enduring images with the sparest of means. ---