On the Attic Stairs 1898

Anders Zorn captured this intimate scene on canvas, depicting two women on wooden stairs. The bright folk costume of the woman descending draws our eye: the red skirt, the green and white jacket. Garments, like potent symbols, carry histories within their folds. Throughout art history, clothing serves as a signifier of identity. Consider the recurring motif of the Madonna in a blue robe, a color associated with the heavens, or royalty in purple cloaks. Here, Zorn uses the traditional garb to root these women in a specific cultural milieu, a theme he often explored. The act of descending itself is an interesting one. One thinks of the many paintings of Christ being taken down from the cross, a symbol of grief and mourning, or the myth of Orpheus, who tragically looks back as he leads Eurydice out of the Underworld, losing her forever. Descent often marks a transition, a move away from one state and towards another. It's a powerful reminder that images and symbols are not static, but constantly evolving. They carry cultural memory and connect us to the past while simultaneously being reinterpreted and given new life in the present.