Two Heads 1932

Editor: This is "Two Heads," a drawing created in 1932 by František Drtikol. There’s something both elegant and unsettling about it, especially the sharp contrast between the profiles. What sort of story do you think the artist is trying to tell? Curator: The doubling suggests a fractured self, perhaps reflecting the unease of the interwar period. Notice how one figure has distinctly feminine, Art Deco features – the bobbed hair, the dramatic eyes – while the other appears more androgynous, almost stoic. Do you see how these types seem to look towards the future while referencing the past? Editor: I do, particularly in that gaze! It’s not confrontational but rather intense, almost piercing. Is that on purpose? Curator: Most likely! Drtikol, despite working during modernism, retained classical elements like dramatic contrast, reminiscent of the *chiaroscuro* of Renaissance art, though made modern by the geometrical Art Deco influences. Do these profiles carry weight for you? Editor: They do, because of that blend, but what's interesting is that the profiles look so distinctly separate even though they are positioned right on top of each other, as one whole shape! Curator: Consider that such doubling in art can also indicate duplicity. Are they allies or antagonists? In exploring our visual culture, we often bring a kaleidoscope of feelings toward continuity. We try to look at who we once were, and it always impacts our present! Editor: That makes a lot of sense. Thanks! It really offers an entirely new perspective on these two figures, one where I was seeing them as separate people and you show how it’s two sides of the same coin. Curator: Indeed, thinking about them symbolically adds layers of cultural meaning. What do you make of it now?