The Girl in the Embroidered Shirt

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Guido van Helten, Minsk, Belarus.

On my last evening in Minsk, last Wednesday 18 May, I walked 3 kilometers across town, through the main train station to a residential block. I had read about a large mural painted in November 2015 by artist Guido van Helten as part of the Urban Myths project. The mural is huge, 9 stories high, and shows a young woman in a traditional Belarusian style shirt. It's really an amazing painting, and I am glad I saw this as the sun was setting, illuminating the building and the mural. I believe the painting is titled "The Girl in the Embroidered Shirt."

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Guido van Helten.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sunset on the mural.

The photo above shows some of the scale of the mural. The detail is striking. You look at her face, wonder what she's thinking, and want to know her story.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Close-up of the mural. Minsk, Belarus.

Of course, van Helten's paintings are also based on real people, so the woman depicted in the mural is probably a model. From Guido van Helten's Tumblr stream, one can see a photo of the inspiration for the Girl in the Embroidered Shirt. I am looking forward to stumbling across other works by van Helten in the future.