The artwork is part of the A3M Collection
— In this drawing, Leonid Pasternak captures a fleeting moment of contemplation — a portrait that is less about likeness than about inner presence. The figure of the artist’s daughter, rendered in swift, confident strokes of charcoal, emerges from the paper with a quiet immediacy. The loose, dynamic lines seem to vibrate with life, tracing not the boundaries of the body, but the pulse of thought and emotion.
The composition breathes with informality, as if the artist sought to preserve the spontaneity of a glance rather than the rigidity of a pose. Light and shadow are reduced to a minimal play of tone, allowing gesture and rhythm to carry the image. The sitter’s relaxed posture, turned slightly away from the viewer, evokes an atmosphere of reflection — a private world momentarily revealed.
Pasternak’s sensitivity to human presence defines his artistic vision. In this portrait, he achieves a balance between intimacy and distance, observation and empathy. The drawing becomes both a family document and a universal meditation on tenderness — the trace of an artist’s gaze transformed into the poetry of line.
Leonid Pasternak was known for his sensitive and impressionistic drawing and painting style. His style combined realism with a lyrical, almost atmospheric quality that drew influence from French impressionism and the Russian Peredvizhniki.
