Sisters 1898

Curator: Standing before us is Carl Wilhelmson's "Sisters," an oil painting on canvas created in 1898. It's currently housed here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It’s… subdued, wouldn't you say? Almost melancholic. The colors are muted, earthy. There's a quiet weight to the scene. The figures look stoic and contemplative. Curator: Wilhelmson often depicted the lives of rural people, focusing on their everyday struggles and resilience. In the late 19th century, artists were keen to depict the social realities around them. The sisterly bond, of course, takes on universal proportions here. Editor: Absolutely, and I find that universal sense very powerful. I am really pulled into the painting by how he plays with the shadows. Observe the shadows underneath their chin, near the edge of the frame. These shadows create this intimacy and almost solemn sensation within the space. It really emphasizes their sense of internal awareness, what do you think? Curator: Precisely! It also resonates with Realism, with its intent on social awareness, that in some sense seeks to depict common people or experiences with raw honesty. The patterns in the background are actually so beautiful: a testament to their time and the domestic space that women occupy during that time. Editor: Yes, but this pattern has such an impact! Look at how this pattern contrasts with their darker-tone clothes. They just disappear in the atmosphere! What kind of comment do you think Wilhelmson makes? Curator: I wonder whether it is to remind us how their individual struggles and interior thoughts take over anything. By focusing on them instead of this pattern, Wilhelmson takes this "common people's" issue to its central message: everyone suffers in silence in their daily experience. Editor: Yes, that is true... Ultimately, there’s a quiet strength in this painting that continues to move me, I think you’re onto something there. Curator: It has made me contemplate that time affects every soul, visible or not, sister or not.