Sittende naken mann og kvinne 1920 - 1930

Editor: This is "Sittende naken mann og kvinne," or "Seated Nude Man and Woman" by Edvard Munch, probably created sometime between 1920 and 1930, in watercolor. There's an unfinished, almost dreamlike quality about it. It's unsettling yet intriguing... what strikes you when you look at this work? Curator: Well, its raw vulnerability for starters. I'm immediately drawn into the emotional landscape that Munch so deftly crafts with what appear, at first glance, as simple washes of color. They remind me of old photographs, their subjects caught in time, now faded and softened around the edges. Do you get the feeling they are almost dissolving back into some primordial creative soup? Editor: Dissolving... that’s interesting! I hadn't thought about it that way. I was too caught up in trying to decipher the expressions, or lack thereof. Is Munch making a statement about intimacy, or perhaps the disconnect between people? Curator: Maybe both, darling! He seems to strip away the superficial, presenting raw human forms amidst the soft blurs and bleeds of watercolor that are almost womb-like. Is it a portrait of love, a study in alienation, or maybe the birth of a new idea about representing the human figure on paper? He poses the question and lets the viewer decide. I also feel the composition is daring, because it is so seemingly unconsidered, yet, so well thought out. What do you think about the choice of colors? Editor: There is something fleshy and ethereal in those pinks and blues. Now that you mention it, those choices give the whole composition an unearthly feel, almost like we're seeing a memory fading away. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. Art should stir our feelings, challenge our thinking and lead us into worlds both inside and outside ourselves. Never let it be any less.