Vrouwen in een bos 1870 - 1886

Editor: So, this is “Women in a Forest” by Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli, painted sometime between 1870 and 1886. Looking at it, I get a really intense, almost chaotic vibe from the brushstrokes. It's like the forest itself is alive and swirling around these figures. What do you see in it? Curator: Well, you know, when I look at Monticelli, I don’t just see figures and trees. I see echoes. Echoes of colour, of light, but most importantly, echoes of the emotional tempest Monticelli must have been feeling. Do you see how the dabs of paint practically dance? Editor: Definitely! They’re not blended smoothly; you can really see each stroke. Curator: Exactly! And that's key. It’s almost like he's trying to capture fleeting impressions, the kind that only a heart brimming with feeling could perceive. It is a rejection of the established classicism with idealized form for something messier, and something truer to experience. Editor: It does feel very modern for its time. I guess that’s why he's been labeled as "abstract expressionism". Curator: Labels! Always boxing artists in. I would say that what's really fascinating is how Monticelli anticipates movements like abstract expressionism, while rooted in the romance of capturing the unseen. Did it occur to you that perhaps the swirling colours evoke music? Editor: Oh, that’s a cool interpretation! I hadn't thought about music at all, but it definitely makes sense with the rhythm of the brushstrokes. Curator: Right? Almost like he's composing a symphony of colours and emotions on the canvas. It also makes me wonder about the women…Are they real, imagined, or memories? We will never know. Editor: This piece is much more intriguing than I first thought. Now I see a deeper, almost hidden language in it. Curator: Isn't it wonderful when art does that? It whispers secrets and provokes endless reflection.