Untitled 

Editor: This painting, “Untitled” by Paul Ranson, is rendered in tempera. It's…strange! Almost dreamlike, the figures are so simplified. What do you see in it? Curator: It certainly has that feel, doesn't it? What strikes me is the collision of innocence and primal force. Eve is there, almost luminous, right? But look at the snake coiled around the tree—the colours!—it’s almost a decorative flourish, but promises temptation and maybe a bite, who knows. Then you have these powerful animals, a lion and a tiger at her feet! They speak of untamed nature tamed. Is she innocence personified? A sorceress? What do you think Ranson's aiming at here? Editor: I guess I was stuck on the, like, kind of flat style? You know, naive, as though he didn’t want it to be…realistic? Is he doing a fairytale? Curator: Well, maybe he *is* going for that simplified feel intentionally. Ranson was heavily involved in Symbolism and even the Nabi brotherhood. What looks naive is him speaking to emotions, ideas, subconscious states through simplified figures and a muted but incredibly sensual palette. And, I mean, we are after all gazing into a fantastical rendering of the Garden of Eden—a dream, a vision. Editor: So, not so much “untrained artist” as a trained artist, untraining himself to get at something deeper? Curator: Precisely! Ranson is creating a mood, a feeling, something more internal than a pretty landscape. The garden within, if you like. Editor: Okay, I get that! I’ll definitely look at it differently now. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. And who knows, perhaps *we’re* the snake tempting others to take a closer look!