Relax!

The last of our three double portraits, this is by David Hockney (Santa Monica, 1968) during his California period. We see the couple of author Christopher Isherwood (right, age 64) and artist Don Bachardy (left, 34). Hockney did a number of double portraits. Always in the back of his mind was The Arnolfini Portrait. What echoes can we see? The window (suggested here). The same green in Bachardy's shirt and Trenta's dress. The space between the figures. The fruit--but here, to what effect? Why do we see one profile and one full face? Hockney says he told them, "Relax," and that's where they looked.