Mason 1929

Curator: Looking at Munch’s "Mason," a watercolor from 1929, I’m immediately struck by the figure in the foreground. It feels solitary, almost adrift amidst the surrounding architecture. Editor: It does have this sort of dreamlike quality. For me, the figure calls to mind Atlas bearing the heavens, burdened. But instead of a globe, he's shouldering what appears to be a half-finished structure. Curator: Exactly! It's as though Munch captured the weight of creation itself. And yet, it's all so airy and translucent. The watercolors lend it a certain ethereal lightness that almost contradicts the subject matter. What about the bold use of colour for you? Editor: Interesting question. See how the mason’s bright yellow head acts as a beacon amid this delicate wash? The blue coat suggests stability, but it can also hint at sadness or even deep introspection. Then you consider that building itself: It is quite skeletal in its form, not particularly warm or inviting but all straight edges and upright supports. So, what did 'structure' mean to Munch I wonder? Was this a period of profound reassessment or simply a rumination on societal design? Curator: That question of societal design reminds me of another of Munch's work - it feels intensely personal and revealing, like glimpsing into a fleeting thought. Maybe the skeletal form itself a sign of emotional unease, of the foundations crumbling? Editor: That is something I would suggest! Considering the period between the wars. Such skeletal images hint at anxiety, an unspoken discomfort - what is safe or stable anymore when everything we build, internal or external, might only turn to dust? The bare, unadorned linen backdrop creates further visual unease – leaving the composition fragile, never quite resolved. Curator: It almost leaves me wanting more, or perhaps allows more space to create meaning in the scene for myself. It feels that Munch trusts in the power of the simplest form of line, texture and watercolour to hold something deeply true, in his perspective, or memory perhaps. Editor: In effect we bear witness not merely to mason's labour, but we glimpse a world re-created or rather held together precariously via each line and stroke - mirroring our efforts as viewers, piecing it all into a cohesive understanding that's satisfyingly poignant even today!