But It Is the Heart Which Beats Too Quickly 1892 - 1899

Curator: "But It Is the Heart Which Beats Too Quickly," created between 1892 and 1899 by Maurice Denis. It’s currently held in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: It evokes this delicate, dreamy atmosphere... a sort of half-awakened state with its warm ambers. There's something vulnerable and yet quietly confident in the woman’s posture that draws me in. It's really something, almost intimate. Curator: The piece is a color lithograph, and Denis, being part of the Symbolist movement, often worked with themes revolving around emotion and spirituality, frequently weaving in the female form. I mean, the very title invites one into the depths of a felt, human experience. Editor: I note how her arm shields her breast, this positioning. Semiotically, that shielding gesture might reveal the inner turmoil within a woman facing rapid heartbeat. Is this the Symbolists trying to evoke anxiety by contrasting nude vulnerability and maternal protective shielding? I have an endless appreciation for Symbolists, for alluding to feelings and letting us do our own projecting... Curator: Absolutely! And I think that’s the magic of it. The simplicity in line and muted tones, plus a kind of ethereal light flooding the space through what could be a window, that adds to this feeling of transient emotional intensity, as you said, right on the edge of anxiety. Editor: The sunbeams seem intentional to amplify this vulnerability by juxtaposing darkness and the healing nature of the sun. What’s so special here, I suppose, is how such a restrained, simple form can convey the turmoil it does, like a single, concentrated emotion. Curator: Exactly! This piece is less about capturing reality, and more about reflecting interior experiences, really feeling them deeply, like the heart is not the quiet pitter-patter you're always stuck with but it's racing through you, right there with her. Editor: It truly serves as an almost sacred pause, prompting one to listen intently to the subtle whispers of one's own quickly beating heart.