Liggende vrouw en vliegende ruiter met fakkel 1914

This print, Liggende vrouw en vliegende ruiter met fakkel, was made by Max Alexander Alandt at an unknown date. It has these smoky, hazy colors, like the whole scene is unfolding in a dream – or maybe a nightmare? The winged horse and rider, a torch spitting fire from its mouth, is a striking image. The rider flies above a woman who is lying in the landscape, like the whole scene is a stage. But I’m drawn to how the artist rendered that sky – all these subtle variations in tone, a real sense of atmosphere. The color palette is muted, mostly greys and browns, with a touch of orange. It’s like Alandt is playing with light and shadow to create drama. I’m reminded of Odilon Redon. Like Redon, Alandt is interested in creating psychological spaces rather than representing literal reality. Art is all about conversation across time. It invites us to see the world in new ways, to embrace the ambiguous, and to find beauty in the unexpected.