Stéphane Mallarmé 1984

This hazy portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé was made by Edvard Munch, though I don’t know when. The whole image is cast in a gentle, hazy light. Munch hasn’t just drawn Mallarmé: he’s conjured him. I wonder if Munch was thinking about the sensation of being face to face with Mallarmé, feeling his presence, and the weight of his gaze? The whole thing shimmers, as though the image itself is alive. The marks are scratchy and uneven. The whole head seems to emerge from the green depths. That looming beard gives the image a centre of gravity, the image radiates out from the mouth, like a quiet word about to be spoken. The whole image speaks of a feeling and inner state. It reminds us that the way we see each other is always mediated by feeling and memory.