I started painting this theme last year when I looked at Gerôme's painting of Galatea and Pygmalion, which hangs in the Met. I was especially interested in the center of the composition, which is extremely tense and dynamic. I created a monotype of that area, with a more lyrical palette and found it wonderful. I especially like the ambiguity of the situation. What was once an image that is so canonical as to become trite becomes, through distillation of periphery information, quite compelling. Aside from its visual and aesthetic merits, the piece causes the viewer to think, and to respond in an emotional way.

There is also a small yellow and violet monotype version of this piece (not pictured).