Two Women on a Sofa - Le Tose c. 1903 - 1904

Curator: There’s a certain melancholic air about Walter Sickert’s "Two Women on a Sofa - Le Tose." Editor: Yes, it feels like a muted stage. Two figures, perhaps weary, inhabiting a space that offers little comfort. Curator: Sickert, who lived from 1860 to 1942, often depicted scenes of everyday life, particularly of working-class London. But this one, held here at the Tate, hints at something more, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. The sofa could be a social space, but they’re isolated. Their striped dresses and hats feel almost like costumes, part of a performance. Curator: I find the brushwork so telling. Loose, almost impatient strokes, creating a sense of immediacy but also…distance. Editor: And that muddy palette! It reflects the economic realities of the subjects, and perhaps also highlights the precarity of being a woman in that particular society. Curator: It's a glimpse into a world unseen, or perhaps, deliberately ignored. Editor: Exactly, a silent dialogue on display.