Siesta I, from the series Radierte Skizzen 1870 - 1920

Max Klinger created 'Siesta I', an etching from his series 'Radierte Skizzen'. Klinger was a German Symbolist painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work often explored the themes of eroticism, death, and social critique. This image shows three figures in a state of repose, their forms blending into the landscape, almost indistinguishable from the rocks and drapery surrounding them. This blending of bodies with the landscape is heavy with the feeling of the period’s psychological explorations. Klinger’s era was marked by burgeoning awareness of the power of the unconscious mind, influencing artists to explore dreamlike states and the blurring of boundaries between reality and fantasy. Klinger, who was influenced by philosophers such as Schopenhauer, was interested in the representation of man's dreams and the world of the subconscious. Here he seems to suggest a world where consciousness is suspended, and bodies merge with their environment. Is this an embrace of the peace in non-being or a terrifying loss of self?