La Fileuse 1900

Curator: Isn't she luminous? Jules Chéret’s color lithograph, "La Fileuse," or "The Spinner," circa 1900, captures the kind of incandescent energy that makes Art Nouveau so intoxicating. It’s currently part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art collection. Editor: It’s pure sensual reverie. She looks as though she’s been spun from pure sunlight and joy, doesn’t she? The woman almost melts into the flowing fabric, like a summer dream. It’s the colors, they vibrate! Curator: Yes, Chéret was a master of color lithography, pushing the medium to achieve that vibrancy. Beyond the obvious "genre scene", "La Fileuse" also engages with themes of erotic art and sensuality. Editor: What I love about this is how it uses very traditional symbolism—the act of spinning, traditionally female labor—to suggest a liberated, almost ecstatic feminine ideal. Curator: I see what you mean, It's not just that the central figure seems blissfully unfettered by her task; notice the figure working in the background; she is a silhouette, a blur of the process, and a representation of the labour which allows the luminous La Fileuse to exist in the composition. It's the art of leisure at play, yes? Editor: Precisely. The work celebrates both traditional life but also offers a challenge: The colours scream and yell for our attention as we're all lost in our day. And it offers to release and emancipate you! The feather is also important in my perspective - It could resemble Hermes, from ancient Greece, the god who guides the souls. Is it possible it carries a metaphor for spiritual and body guide into freedom? Curator: Interesting that you noticed the guiding symbolism of the feather. When viewed through your eyes, this artwork has turned into something so much more than just a sensual dreamscape, and taken us somewhere far away from Minneapolis. Thank you for enriching the discussion. Editor: My pleasure. It’s always so interesting to hear how others see a particular artwork, it helps to broaden our perspectives in return. I leave enriched!