Zwei Winde. Entwurf zur Decke im Café Bauer, bestehend aus vier Teilen c. 1884

Hans Thoma created "Zwei Winde. Entwurf zur Decke im Café Bauer, bestehend aus vier Teilen" with graphite and watercolor. The composition is divided into four triangular sections arranged around a central, diamond-shaped void, creating a balanced yet dynamic visual experience. The colour palette is subdued, dominated by grey, with hints of pink and green. The artwork seems to explore duality and opposition. The upper quadrants depict an old man blowing wind from the right and a hand holding a bowl of wind from the left. In the lower quadrants there are two figures on clouds, one dark and one fair. Each section uses distinct textures and brushstrokes to represent the wind and the figures. This contrast invites a semiotic interpretation, the wind represented in opposing directions. The composition’s structure destabilizes fixed meanings, suggesting an engagement with dualities that challenge conventional representation. Thoma encourages us to question the nature of symbolic visual language. The artwork is a site where cultural and philosophical discourses intersect, leaving space for ongoing interpretation and re-interpretation.