Conversing figures gathered around a table with a donkey in the foreground 1919

Curator: Corinth's "Conversing figures gathered around a table with a donkey in the foreground," it's held at the Harvard Art Museums. Look at that donkey, front and center. Editor: It feels like a dream, doesn't it? Everyone's a bit blurred, like memory. Is the donkey the only real thing in the room? Curator: Corinth's always been a bit of a rebel. Notice how he throws the viewer off balance, setting up this domestic scene, but framing it with that stark, almost primitive animal. Editor: Is it a religious reference, do you think? Curator: Possibly! It's easy to read religious symbolism into it, sure, but it could also be a commentary on the burdens we carry, the unseen labor propping up these conversations. Editor: Well, I appreciate Corinth giving the donkey his due. It definitely steals the show, even with all those figures vying for attention. Curator: True. Corinth always asks us to think, to feel, to question. He makes art that is both deeply personal and universally relevant. Editor: I'll remember to give the donkey a second look next time I need a little grounding in reality.