Portrait of Bent von Müllen as a Boy 1894 - 1943

Edvard Weie made this painting of Bent von Müllen as a Boy with oils on canvas. Look at how the colour is dabbed on, and layered to give a feeling of domestic stillness. It’s like the painting came into being through careful looking and feeling, as Weie shifted and adjusted the forms on the canvas. I imagine Weie wanting to capture the boy’s quiet focus as he reads, maybe thinking about his own childhood, or the universal experience of getting lost in a book. The paint isn’t too thick, but the marks are so present, like little gestures, each one communicating intention and care. There's something satisfying about the shadow cast by the sitter's feet, it seems to mimic the concentration in the boy's face. Painters are always talking to each other across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. This painting feels like an intimate, embodied expression, where the artist embraces ambiguity and allows for multiple interpretations.