No airbrushing controversy here. Jennifer Lawrence is fully brushed in a new painting by the artist John Currin. The portrait is one of four different cover images commissioned by Vogue for its September issue, marking the magazine’s 125th anniversary.

Despite Mr. Currin’s reputation for eroticism, his portrait of Ms. Lawrence is demure. She appears wearing a simple tan chemise and a Miu Miu patterned fur hat, holding a purple and green purse. “To be in a situation of producing a cover for this famous magazine, I’m a little scared,” Mr. Currin said in an interview. “I do worry about decorum.”

The other three covers will feature photographs of Ms. Lawrence, by Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber and the duo Inez and Vinoodh. This is the actress’s third appearance on Vogue’s cover. (She has also been on the cover of the British edition.)

The painting puts Mr. Currin’s many influences on full display. Ms. Lawrence is depicted in a Mannerist pose, unnatural but elegant. Perspective is minimized and a rococo palette competes with a hint of Dutch old master sobriety. The hat provides the element of the absurd that Mr. Currin is known for. And all of this is filtered through a pictorial style that evokes classic magazine illustrations from the 1930s and 1940s.