Fulls de la vida 1898

Curator: What a melancholic but beautiful poster by Santiago Rusiñol, "Fulls de la Vida", dating from 1898. It is rendered in watercolour and incorporates that period's Art Nouveau styling. Editor: It feels incredibly nostalgic. The muted colors, the woman absorbed in her book, the elaborate garden... it's all like a forgotten dream, or perhaps a page torn from a lover's diary. It has that 'fleeting moment' kind of quality to it. Curator: Rusiñol, as you know, was a prominent figure in the Catalan Modernista movement. He frequently depicted gardens, which, at the time, served as spaces of both refuge and a place for social exhibition amongst the bourgeoisie. Gardens reflected ideals of beauty, but also the display of status and taste. Editor: And what is she reading, I wonder? A volume of poetry, perhaps? The angle suggests that she might almost be guarding its contents. The Irises feel like guardians too, maybe it’s a sacred text. They almost hide the lettering at the bottom. It is almost as if she is standing watch in front of a forbidden portal! Curator: Absolutely, this resonates with the period's Symbolist undercurrents where personal interpretation and emotional experience was prioritized, the book becomes a potent metaphor. Rusiñol, like many of his contemporaries, engaged in questioning conventional academic and bourgeois values, the very establishment he portrays, leading to an interesting duality. The location, a garden, implies privilege and calm contemplation, however the tone suggests more is at stake, and even perhaps the demise of those self same social and political foundations.. Editor: The wispy almost disappearing, garden in the background also adds to the overall fleetingness that this image suggests. Like the pages could blow away at any moment and reveal something new! I could stare into it all day! Curator: Indeed. Rusiñol successfully captured a pivotal moment of change in both art and society. Editor: A beautifully bittersweet artifact! A story in a snapshot. I am certain people can find the truth between those watercolour leaves if they look closely.