'Twixt the Cup and the Lip 1900 - 1907

Benedict F. Herzog made this small image called 'Twixt the Cup and the Lip' with what looks like charcoal or lithographic crayon. It is dark, with veiled figures and a sense of foreboding. I can imagine Herzog working on this, trying to get the faces just right, smudging the charcoal to create a sense of mystery. It's like a dance between control and letting go. He's wrestling with ideas of mortality, love, and maybe even a bit of theater. The textures are so soft and hazy, yet the message is so stark. He’s creating a mood, a feeling, more than a literal scene. It reminds me of other symbolist artists playing with similar themes of melancholic beauty. We see in his work that painting isn't just about depicting what's in front of you, but capturing the invisible things, the emotions, the feelings, the anxieties that haunt us. Artists are always riffing off each other, keeping the conversation going. This piece is a reminder that, as in painting, so in life, we are constantly negotiating ambiguity.