Dunkle Cosmeen 1935

Curator: Here we have Christian Rohlfs’s “Dunkle Cosmeen,” a pastel work from 1935. Editor: My initial reaction is one of disquiet. The colors are so vibrant, almost violently so, yet there’s a somber undertone I can’t quite shake. Curator: Perhaps the dark, almost bruised background is contributing to that unease? Poppies have carried meanings of both sleep and remembrance—often tied to war. Editor: It's interesting that you bring up the materiality: Pastel gives such a tactile quality to the surface. You can almost feel the artist's hand, layering the colors, scratching into the surface. It seems almost urgent, raw. Curator: The composition, too, reinforces that raw emotionality, I think. Notice how the floral arrangement is clustered and crowded; a veritable field pressing forward. There is almost an unsettling feeling about this intensity—and note how this differs from standard depictions of flowers from a bygone era. Editor: Absolutely. Traditional still life is often about portraying control – dominance over nature, you could argue. Rohlfs’ choice of pastel – usually thought of as "delicate" - flies in the face of such assumptions and seems rebellious here. He turns it into something quite muscular and almost violent. Curator: I completely agree. Rohlfs’s engagement with Expressionism suggests an intentional rejection of tradition. Through intense color and energetic mark-making, there's almost a frantic tone here. The symbolic meanings that attach to a red flower are manifold—life, death, blood, and so much in-between. These "dark cosmos" become not a celebration of nature, but perhaps a darker rumination upon it. Editor: Looking again at the medium of pastel – such humble stuff – it is intriguing that Rohlfs elevated the mundane, taking it from being considered mere draftsmanship to something capable of powerful expression. Curator: Indeed. Thinking about it, these visual signifiers work so effectively. We see how the artwork, at once disturbing and beguiling, represents Rohlfs' own grappling with nature and form. Editor: And from a simple piece of chalk and paper, we've uncovered so much more depth than a fleeting impression of pleasant poppies!