Covert Fruits of Enlightenment 

Art Historian: We’re looking at “Covert Fruits of Enlightenment” by Michael Cheval. This piece employs a fascinating blend of realism and surrealism, typical of Cheval's oeuvre, I'd say. Artist: My first impression? Intriguing. Melancholy, maybe? The bubbles feel delicate, fragile. And the composition is wonderfully weird, the odd objects give an unexpected grounding—a very light, almost whimsical touch to serious themes of self and deception, doesn’t it? Art Historian: Indeed. Bubbles themselves are rich in symbolism—ephemerality, illusion, the transient nature of existence. Notice the figures intertwined with the landscape, that Harlequin figure emerging from what seems like petrified wood. His image and actions are reflected on children on the lower corner of the piece. Those types hold potent significance in the commedia dell’arte tradition and act like guides—mediators between worlds. Artist: He's creepy! Yet, compelling. Guides, or perhaps a distorted, hidden inner critic? The harlequin’s shadow falls onto the child. Also note the items beneath the table: they seem out of time, disruptive...a hairdryer, an iron...are they evidence of modern intrusions into this seemingly antiquated world? Art Historian: Precisely. They could represent suppressed or dismissed aspects of modern life, adding a layer of concealed complexities beneath a veneer of conventional beauty. Or perhaps those are tools used in shaping feminine expectations across eras: vanity, household upkeep, domestic routine. There is tension that seems familiar across time periods. Artist: It’s all these dualities, layered symbols within symbols, that pull you in. It’s as if Cheval’s whispering, “Look closer. Nothing is ever truly as it seems,” with just a bit of darkness and wryness mixed in, no? The woman is both contained and liberated in the act of making bubbles. Art Historian: It is indeed a commentary on our perception versus reality. What fruits does enlightenment offer? Perhaps illusions revealed? Artist: I find the whole image a riddle. That's art though. That it provokes introspection and doesn't hand you easy answers. Art Historian: Well, this has definitely expanded my awareness today! The layered imagery offers sustained intrigue about the symbolic world all around us.