Draudzenes. 1971

Guntis Strupulis painted "Draudzenes" using oil on canvas, presenting us with two women and a landscape framed by a window. Here, the motif of the window and the shared gaze of the figures towards the landscape is reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s "Woman at a Window". While Friedrich used the window to convey Romantic yearning, Strupulis presents a more ambiguous narrative. The window here acts as a threshold between the interior world of human connection and the exterior world of nature, reflecting the interplay between inner emotional life and the external world. This juxtaposition evokes a sense of longing, the figures turned away from each other towards the landscape beyond, suggesting perhaps a shared dream or unspoken desire. Consider the enduring image of figures gazing out of windows—from Renaissance paintings to modern cinema. This motif taps into our collective memories, evoking reflections on isolation, hope, and the passage of time. It is through this psychoanalytic lens that we begin to understand the power of Strupulis's painting, engaging us on a subconscious level with timeless themes of human existence.