Lot 581: Santos, Oil on Canvas, Portrait of an Indigenous Woman 97x77cm

A realist oil on canvas painting depicting a young Indigenous woman wading through shallow coastal waters. The subject is portrayed from the waist up, nude except for traditional adornments including a prominent decorative collar, armbands, and beaded bracelets. The work is executed with a warm palette of ochre and earthy browns in the foreground water, contrasting with muted blue and grey tones of the sea in the background. The brushwork is refined across the anatomical rendering of the figure, becoming more gestural and textured in the representation of breaking waves and sea foam. The painting is housed in a contemporary greenish-grey molded frame with a gilt inner slip. A dark brown painted signature is located in the lower right corner, consisting of three horizontal lines leading into a capital letter S, followed by the letters a, n, t, o, s, with a horizontal line extending from the final character.