In der Bauernstube 1890

Curator: Welcome. Here we have Wilhelm Leibl's "In der Bauernstube," completed around 1890 using oil on canvas. What captures your attention first, here? Editor: It's all in the eyes, isn't it? That woman is looking *right through* someone, perhaps even annoyed. It is intense, even with the very traditional scene he creates. It really sucks you in! Curator: It’s fascinating how Leibl captures psychological tension within such a domestic, genre scene. Her averted gaze definitely speaks volumes. One immediately wonders about the untold narrative. Notice how her traditional attire still carries this emotion in its symbolism. Editor: It's that little red flower she's holding...it just screams of symbolism, doesn't it? Is she clinging to romance or rejecting it? Or does the man have the flower? So interesting to create art with an emotion we can identify so easily, that kind of nervous energy! I feel as if I'm intruding on a difficult conversation! Curator: Absolutely. Red, of course, carries connotations of passion, but also warning or anger. It adds layers of complexity to this intimate interaction, as you put it. And even how he seems to be offering her a flower, she may not see it, lost in some internal discussion of her own. It has been considered a look at unspoken class differences between genders in that time period. Editor: Oh, *unspoken* is the key word. The way it's painted makes me feel almost stifled...like all that tension and feeling has no way to escape, you know? The whole painting has an unresolved tension to it... I feel it very deeply, it could be right out of a theatrical stage. Curator: I find that such tension gives the painting so much to admire and analyze, even centuries after it was created! It captures an eternal and complicated moment in humanity’s dance. Thank you for offering a fresh, visceral perspective, in today's journey in symbolism! Editor: My pleasure! Anytime that my artistic senses get that activated, I can go on for days! I appreciate the chance to talk about "In der Bauernstube!"