Witch's head 1915

Curator: August Natterer painted "Witch's Head" in 1915. Made with oil paints, the work presents two profile heads filled with landscapes. Editor: My first impression is one of whimsy mixed with disquiet. The heads resemble simplified maps or bizarre, impossible faces of giants. The landscape fills them with an unnerving tension. Curator: Natterer, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, made this during a period of institutionalization. He described experiencing visions and believed himself to be a divine figure. The landscapes could be interpreted as an effort to impose order on an internal world experienced as chaotic. Editor: The "Witch's Head" title itself is fascinating. "Witch" carries potent symbolic weight: female power, knowledge, and otherness, and historically has been negatively politicized in periods of cultural anxieties. The landscape, usually a signifier of nature and tranquility, is disturbed, warped within the head's outline. Curator: I agree. From a social history perspective, we have to remember that during that era, people with mental illnesses were frequently stigmatized and isolated. This "outsider art," as it's called, reflects Natterer's unique perception, unconstrained by mainstream artistic conventions but profoundly shaped by institutional practices of psychiatry. Editor: The orb-like eyes! What can you tell us about these? Are these purely representational or something else? The top head's eye is more opaque, while the lower figure shows a dark pupil within a staring eye. There is an overall symbolism with clairvoyance, prophecy. They’re like portals to other realms. Curator: Perhaps Natterer saw himself as possessing such a connection. The historical context surrounding spiritism and occultism at the time, further blurs into the sociopolitical upheaval, such as war anxieties. It all creates such interesting symbolism in the painting. Editor: Definitely, the visual language here has depth. Looking again at the symbolism of land embedded in a face reminds me of archaic concepts where land and selfhood are entwined. Curator: It makes you ponder the way we define sanity and creativity. Natterer's work invites discussion about those societal norms. Editor: Precisely. Thank you, that's been an illuminating journey.