Dance in the moonbeam - Dans i maanglans 1901

Theodor Severin Kittelsen made this fantastical scene using graphite and ink, sketching a night dance under the moon. Imagine him hunched over his paper, his hand moving feverishly to capture the energy of this secret revelry. The drawing shows animals dancing in a circle under a full moon. A bear takes center stage, and all around him rabbits, squirrels, and wolves swirl. One wolf plays the fiddle. I wonder what Kittelsen was thinking when he drew this enchanted scene. I can almost feel the scratch of graphite on the page as he shaded their fur, lending weight to the dark forms against the pale snow. The texture of the paper peeks through, adding a roughness that enhances the primal energy of the dance. It reminds me of other painters and illustrators who have conjured dream worlds, like Arthur Rackham or even some of the more whimsical works of Odilon Redon. Each artist taps into a shared language of symbols and archetypes, speaking to our deepest fears and desires through images. And now, looking at the way the wolf is holding the fiddle, I am thinking of my own drawings and how even a simple mark can convey so much feeling and intention.