Man en vrouw door een boek bladerend 1880 - 1943

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to "Man en vrouw door een boek bladerend," or "Man and Woman Flipping Through a Book" by Maurice Denis. Created sometime between 1880 and 1943, this is an etching, a print on paper. Editor: The first impression is rather somber, wouldn't you agree? The limited tonal range creates a sense of intimacy, almost voyeurism. There's a definite emphasis on line, isn't there, defining the figures' forms? Curator: Yes, the mood is quite introspective. Considering Denis' involvement in the Symbolist movement, I find it hard to see this simply as a genre scene. The act of reading can be seen as entering a different symbolic world. Look at how the figures are framed; almost shielded from us by their clothing and the surrounding shadows. What might the artist wish to convey about what one "reads"? Editor: Semiotically speaking, we have several layers of text here. The text within the book they peruse, certainly. The text of their attire speaks, too—the dark hat of the woman, obscuring her features, suggesting anonymity and interiority, juxtaposed with the sharp profile and nautical cap of the man… Then, of course, is Denis' technical handling of the medium, etching—how his style suggests or obscures meaning. Curator: Exactly. The obscuring details might symbolize a barrier. The relationship to art, perhaps, could be the quest for answers, that even reading as seemingly direct access, requires navigation. Think, too, of Denis' spiritual interests. Perhaps reading alludes to scriptural interpretations, an active, mediated relationship to deeper truths? Editor: I would only suggest the material properties play a huge role as well, especially when you observe closely. Paper inherently creates space, doesn’t it, allowing the image to exist; the act of creating and imprinting meaning and identity upon it. Curator: A valid point! In some traditions, the book, the "codex", symbolizes the body holding the soul—an intellectual or spiritual vessel. How we engage the vessel determines meaning and understanding. The figures blend in tone almost like parts of the background but in subtle shades – it suggests this reading may simply blend back in, be not an illumination but the wallpaper that envelops existence. Editor: Well, Maurice Denis certainly offers layers of possibilities. Thank you for guiding me in a rich consideration of formal elements that work in such tandem with iconographical questions. Curator: The pleasure was all mine. Perhaps after this discussion we can ourselves ponder upon more artwork!