Roman Košťál - Trachtenerg

The weeping girl—a victim of a pagan ritual—has her smudged eyeliner streaked by tears, giving the illusion of bleeding from her eyes. In the painting, we see her raise her right shoulder above the viewer’s eye level, though it remains unclear whether she clutches a knife or instead extends a blessing. She sensually narrows her eyes like a femme fatale, her lips petal-soft, mirroring the floral crown adorning her head—a twisted echo of Christ’s thorned halo.