Applying a Reading on a Piece of Art

Applying a Reading on a Piece of Art

Expressionism: Art reaction

This painting The Dance of Life, by Edvard Munch (1899-1900) portrays a group of dancers depicted as swirls of color. The central couple is flanked by a cheerful woman in white, and a dour woman in black. The impression created by this flanking is almost symbolic in nature, as if two spirits are haunting the celebration in the painting. The central image is of a couple, in the embrace of a dance amongst other dancers. The male figure is depicted in dark round curves of color, almost like the female figure. This suggests motion, or perhaps the feminization of the man in love, given that this lower half is just as voluptuous as that of his partner's.

The couple depicted in the center of the painting does not seem to be getting married, given that the woman is dressed in red. It is possible to construct several scenarios that would explain the presence of the women at either side of the couple. Perhaps the angry woman is a spurned lover? Perhaps the approving woman is the mother of the young woman? There is a 'specialness' conveyed in the presence of the couple because of its central location in the middle of the frame. The fact that the other female dancers whirling around them are dressed in white further conveys the couple's 'specialness.'

Despite the fact that the central woman is in red, however, there is still a distinct character to every other pair of dancers. For example, the dancing couple to the right of the viewer shows a large male nuzzling the nape of his female partner with eagerness. His face is quite distinct, his mouth is open, yet her hair and body are merely whips of brushstrokes. The fact that the male is overpowering the female is conveyed with the quality of the paint, rather than in a literal manner. Instead of translating a photographic reality, the impression of a lascivious male with a weaker partner is shown in an extreme fashion -- the woman barely exists as anything but a brushstroke, especially her head. This conveys the immediate impression of the couple upon the gazing spectator, rather than tries to accurately portray the couple how it 'really' might appear. In the distance, a happier couple whirls in the background. The male is a swirl of heavy brushstrokes, but the woman's hair whips back proudly, and the lightness of her feet suggests some joy in the motions.

Unlike the other couples, the movement of the central couple is more timid. The woman's facial expression is ambiguous and searching, unlike the expressions on the two mysterious women watching over the couple. The male does not make eye contact with his partner at all, but merely looks at the floor. The woman's uncertainty, underlined by her distinct garb, could mean that the unpartnered women also represent different facets of the central dancer's inner character, rather than literally depict actual women.