Stéphane Mallarmé 1897

Curator: This is Edvard Munch's print of Stéphane Mallarmé, held here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's like looking into a smoky mirror. The image flickers, somehow both present and receding. Curator: Munch, the master of anxiety, portrays Mallarmé, the symbolist poet. You feel the weight of contemplation in that gaze, don't you? Editor: Definitely. It's an interesting visual echo, Munch capturing Mallarmé, both wrestling with how to represent the unrepresentable! Curator: Indeed, it is a dialogue between artists—one through image, the other through verse, both exploring the depths of human emotion. Editor: Leaves me wondering what Mallarmé thought of it. Did he see himself in those shadowy lines? Curator: A question for the ages. Editor: Yes, well, perhaps the mystery is part of its allure.