Hugh Jackman, by Vincent Fantauzzo, 2020. This portrait of actor, singer and dancer Hugh Jackman is a work of oil on canvas and stands 167 cm tall and 128 cm wide. It is an unframed canvas protruding 5 cm off the wall.
Painted in black and white, the portrait is an immensely detailed photorealistic painting. Against a bright cream-white background, a relaxed smiling Jackman leans to the right of the frame, his left hand wrapped around the side of his neck, supporting his head. His gaze is fixed brightly on the viewer. His face occupies the top-right quarter of the frame while his shoulders and chest, in a dark grey t-shirt, occupy the bottom half, the white background filling the top-left.
Jackman’s kind eyes show a detailed reflection of his surroundings, his gaze warmly addressing a dark figure reflected in his irises. Deep creases and crows’ feet fan out from his eyes, above which are thick dark eyebrows, with grooved frown-lines interrupting his otherwise smooth forehead. His soft dark hair appears messily parted out of frame with just his hairline and a handful of individual wayward hairs in view. The edges of his hair and t-shirt and Jackman’s protruding ears are painted with less detail than the rest of his sharply focused face, giving the impression of a camera lens’ blur.
His nose is prominent and descends into a dense salt and pepper stubble moustache which continues seamlessly into a beard. His facial hair extends up to his ears and down his rounded chin to his neck and is painted in exceptional detail, with each individual black white and grey follicle clearly visible. Amongst the facial hair his mouth is closed and upturned in a gentle smile. Half of his neck is obscured in shadow by his left wrist which hovers just below his chin as he leans into his palm.
Audio description written and voiced by Kate Matthews