Den bortrövade ormen 1931

Nils Dardel made this painting, *Den bortrövade ormen*, which translates to "The Abducted Snake", using expressive brushstrokes and a vibrant palette. You can almost feel the painting coming into being, each stroke a careful consideration, a shift, an emergence through trial, error, and intuition. I can sympathize with Dardel. What might he have been thinking when he made it? The paint looks thin, fluid, allowing the forms to emerge with a certain lightness. I’m really drawn to the way the three blue birds are painted, the way they communicate a feeling, intention, a bit of meaning maybe? There is definitely a dialogue going on between the painter and his subject. When I look at this piece, it feels like Dardel is in conversation with painters like Matisse and Picasso, exchanging ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. It’s a form of embodied expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning.