Brunhild (The Valkyrie) 

Curator: Looking at Odilon Redon’s “Brunhild (The Valkyrie)", I’m immediately struck by its ethereal quality. The colors are so muted and dreamy. Editor: It evokes a certain nostalgia, doesn’t it? The hazy blues and oranges create a kind of liminal space. I'm drawn to the symbolic resonance here—Redon is tackling Wagner's opera, the Valkyrie Brunhild herself. The powerful feminine figure riding a stallion in defiance of cultural boundaries. Curator: Precisely. Redon's symbolic language, in this pastel and possibly oil on paper, feels radical, given his time. What is the role of myth-making in forming gendered perceptions, the male gaze itself represented by this horse? It's fascinating how Redon presents Brunhild: empowered but almost vanishing, challenging the conventional heroic narrative by subverting it from within. Editor: The visual weight clearly lies on the rearing horse. I'm interested in the almost universal symbolism of the horse. Its potent connection to primal energy, untamed desires. Its color is not incidental: this blue-black horse is one of sorrow. Consider the Greek god Poseidon and the color of the seas of tears...Brunhild may have more complex and diverse characteristics than a simply powerful stance. Curator: Indeed. Redon situates us right at the heart of conflicting notions. His usage of color lends itself to our present-day understanding of gender performativity. This Valkyrie may be the idealized depiction, yet, it leaves me pondering upon the social constructs dictating this feminine archetype. Is she riding freely, or ridden? Is she saving herself, or does she have a mission to achieve for the men she seems to lead? Editor: An art work doesn't have to stand completely alone; like a key within a complex system of mythology, it gives us clues to discover and build our narrative, while the truth is in how well the whole image triggers our minds. Curator: Well said. A provocative intersectional analysis emerges from this symbolic image, and stays long with us. Editor: Absolutely, it encourages further pondering and inspires new explorations of myth.