Have mercy 

Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze's painting pulls us into an intimate dance, set against an ambiguous, dreamlike backdrop. The artist, working in the late 20th century, captures a moment laden with unspoken narratives, a reflection perhaps, of shifting gender dynamics within performance and beyond. The central male figure, bare-chested and in loose trousers, embodies a relaxed physicality that contrasts with the ballerina on his left. She seems caught between the support he offers and her own precarious balance, one arm raised in a gesture of vulnerability or maybe triumph. To their right, another female figure sits masked, a silent observer. There is an emotional intensity to the gazes and gestures of the figures, that suggests a complex choreography of power, dependence, and voyeurism. The muted colors enhance the feeling of a private, almost forbidden scene, where the boundaries of identity are blurred. The painting invites us to consider the hidden dramas that play out in the wings.