Ioan Costea-Verman

Ioan Costea-Verman painted saints the way people painted their neighbors—thick brushstrokes, warm light, and no halo glow. Look at his Prohodul lui Iisus and you see Jesus being lowered from the cross, but the faces feel like the folks next door at the village wake. He kept drawing the same icons in charcoal until the paper wore thin. Try his drawing Maica Domnului cu Pruncul; the Virgin’s face is just lines, but you still feel the weight of her tired arms holding the child.