Matter of conscience. Humorous Illustration for Meggendorfers leaves. 1897

This humorous illustration for Meggendorfers leaves was created by Koloman Moser around the turn of the century. Instantly, one’s attention is drawn to the stylized composition. A man gazes upon a woman seated behind a decorative screen or doorway. The patterns and spatial arrangement suggest a flattening of perspective, characteristic of the Art Nouveau aesthetic. The image is structured around a duality: the man in the foreground versus the woman partially concealed, the graphic screen versus the floral wallpaper, the cool greens versus the warm oranges. This contrast might represent a tension between public and private, observer and observed, reality and artifice. The woman, perched almost doll-like, raises questions about representation and the commodification of the female image. Moser uses these formal elements to explore themes of perception, desire, and the role of women as both subjects and objects of art. The visual structure invites us to question the gaze and to decode the layers of meaning embedded in this carefully constructed scene. Ultimately, Moser challenges fixed meanings, prompting ongoing interpretation.