Sitting Couple (Nudes) 1910

Curator: This rather raw and expressive drawing is Christian Rohlfs' "Sitting Couple (Nudes)," executed around 1910, now residing here at the Städel Museum. The medium is listed as ink and indian ink. Editor: It’s unsettling. The distorted figures and stark lines create a really unsettling atmosphere. There's a fragility there too. Almost as though they're caged within those heavy outlines. Curator: That unsettling feeling aligns well with the Expressionist movement. Rohlfs, working in this period, embraced emotional intensity over strict representation. Consider the historical context: social anxieties, shifts in morality... these themes would deeply resonate. Editor: Definitely, the eyes especially. The wide, dark eyes suggest a confrontation with something… perhaps a reflection of their inner selves, or a reaction to the chaos of the time. The bananas are interesting here, as a phallic symbol, they emphasize an unease related to physical intimacy. Curator: Symbolism, you've hit on a key point. Looking back, we can interpret those details—the bodies, those eyes, as representations of alienation or spiritual searching, themes that dominated much Expressionist work exhibited during that era, particularly within groups like Die Brücke. Editor: It’s not just spiritual, I think. Look at the angularity of their bodies and their close confinement to the pictorial plane. Rohlfs might be examining how conventional relationships become strained. Perhaps the “couple” refers not only to the individuals depicted but how early-twentieth-century Germany was reshaping traditional societal roles. Curator: Indeed. The artwork acts as a mirror, reflecting back societal tensions and artistic experimentations of its time, something art institutions were just starting to legitimize. Expressionism would later be stigmatized during the Nazi era, though. The socio-political background really dictates its history and interpretation. Editor: Ultimately, “Sitting Couple (Nudes)" reveals how something as ostensibly straightforward as a figurative drawing can hold layers of emotional, cultural and symbolic meaning. Curator: An image offering potent insight, wouldn't you say, into a period rife with dramatic social, personal and artistic evolution?