Interiør fra dagligstuen på St. Hans Torv med figur 1899 - 1901

Editor: So this piece, "Interior from the living room on St. Hans Torv with figure" by Karl Madsen, painted between 1899 and 1901... It feels strangely modern for its time. It's so geometric, and the colors are very vibrant and feel flat. How would you interpret this work? Curator: It strikes me as a fascinating example of visual coding. While seemingly abstract, aren't these geometric shapes and colours symbols extracted from reality? The room itself becomes a kind of visual language. Look how each compartment holds distinct meaning through the relationship of colours, geometric and numerical shapes that play with semiotics! Editor: Visual language…like an alphabet of shapes? So the colors, patterns…they all contribute to a message? What's the message here? Curator: Possibly, though its meaning may be deeply embedded in turn-of-the-century Danish life. A specific time capsule. Does that single “5” carry a personal meaning or collective experience. Do the stacked gradients express an analogue version of CMYK. Editor: Hmmm, a personal meaning that only Karl Madsen would have had, so it all would have had meaning in 1899-1901 Copenhagen and been more decipherable... Curator: Yes, indeed! It invites us to consider how seemingly simple forms can encode complex ideas, personal, societal or otherwise, making you ponder which language it borrows from, Math? Optics? Philosophy? It begs a more research to better comprehend its significance! Editor: It gives me so much to look into, to decipher more meanings than I thought when looking at just blocks of colours... Thank you. Curator: Absolutely, the power of art is its multi-layered message!