Kaufman A.

Kaufman painted churchmen with the same care he gave to still lifes—thick brushstrokes and bold colors, like he couldn’t decide whether to worship the sitter or the paint itself. One afternoon he lined up every icon in the room, then scrubbed half of them out so only the eyes and robes stayed legible, leaving the rest to guesswork. Flip through his “Mitropolitul Veniamin” and you’ll see the trick: a face that looks both holy and half-finished, as if the subject stepped out for a smoke.