The idol-admirers 

Editor: This is “The Idol-Admirers” by Endre Bartos, created with acrylic paint. The figures are this cool blue, but the orange backdrop feels intense. I’m interested in your take – what strikes you when you look at this painting? Curator: Note the flattening of the picture plane. Observe the arrangement of color. We are not presented with depth as much as we are with juxtapositions of chromatic intensities. What semiotic play arises, do you think, from the floating geometric shapes? Editor: Are you talking about the triangles? It makes me think about symbolism. Are they meant to stand for something specific? Curator: Consider them formally. They pierce and interrupt the rounded, softer forms of the figures. Do they advance the rhythm and dynamism? Or do they create a compositional tension? Editor: I see that, especially the red triangle, its shape and placement are repeated several times in the composition and color choices. Does the artist break with traditional forms deliberately? Curator: Decidedly so, observe the Fauvist approach. While retaining the figure, the artist dispenses with representational accuracy. Colour here, gains autonomy; becoming a structuring principle in itself. Are you interpreting this through the lens of Expressionism? Editor: Absolutely! Especially regarding colour! And seeing it from this lens makes the art piece much more captivating, since I can perceive both visual and thematic nuances more comprehensively now. Curator: Precisely. These interpretive possibilities reveal the power of attending to structure, form and relational composition within the piece. I, too, found a great appreciation for this piece during our conversation!