Munch "The Kiss"
In the painting titled "The Kiss" (oil on canvas, 1897), artist Edvard Munch explores two themes- love and isolation. Similar themes are also seen in Rene Margritte's "The Lovers" (oil on canvas, 1928).In both of these paintings there are two people locked in a kiss, yet we see not a single face in either. We do not see the faces of the lovers; therefore we can only see the connection between them. By using different ways to convey isolation, the artists show us- not two people in love, but the love itself.
In "The Kiss" there is a man embracing a woman in a dark room. Everything about the scene is dark- the lighting inside the room, their hair and clothes. Everything is dark except for the curtain on the left side of the painting which is lifted up to reveal a bright and sunny day outside of the dark room. This dramatic lighting effect stresses the theme of isolation. Outside of this dark room where the lovers hug, there seems to be an opposing world. The figures faces are blurred together, almost merging as one as they passionately kiss each other.
Munch uses relaxed brushstrokes and dreamy colors to underline the significance of this particular kiss. His technique classifies the world he paints as one set apart from the world we see everyday. The setting of the painting is a very important element. These two lovers are comparable themselves to the setting in which they embrace. Just like the room is dark and unknown, so are they with their dark attire and blurred faces. Through the window we see a bright and totally different world than inside, which isolates the figures. Yet it does not seem as though they are trapped by the room. It seems that they choose to meet in this dark room. Their love is hidden in the dark- apart from a recognizable world outside. The setting's mysterious quality makes the embrace poignant; making us believe this is about more than just two people kissing. By translating the essence of their love into the atmosphere of the setting, Munch encapsulates the entire idea of romance- the idea of love itself as an entity.
In Rene Margritte's "The Lovers", there are also two people kissing. Their faces are not blurred and they are not in a dark room- but their faces are still hidden. Their heads are covered by bags. They are kissing each other with the bags over their heads. We do not see their bodies so we do not know if they are embracing and the setting is not specific because the view is close-up, focusing only on the cloaked faces kissing each other. Although the background looks like sky, there is a portion of building that appears above and to the right side of the lovers. It looks as if they are outside, underneath a terrace. It also appears that they are wearing formal wear.
Margritte's painting technique is more realistic than that of Munch. The colors are not bright, but there is a light from an unknown source bringing out shades of red in the woman's dress and the wall to the right. Other than that the colors are slightly dreary. While in "The Kiss", the setting stresses isolation, in "The Lovers", the absence of a setting stresses isolation. If the lovers did not have bags over their heads and we still saw a close-up of their faces, we would interpret that as simply two people in love, kissing one another, who possibly have a story to their kiss- but we might not read into the story of the characters very much. This emphasizes the idea that this painting is not about the people so much as the event. Since we do not see their faces, we see their connection- the love itself. It is as if Margritte pulls us into the world of the kiss these lovers share through the omission of a meaningful setting. The lovers have bags over their heads and are blind to the setting around them; therefore so are we as viewers. The small part of the scenery we see consists of the dreary colors that are there strictly to be unappealing. Margriette paints a mystery that is all too solvable. He catches our attention by making us wonder why we're seeing people with bags over their heads. He eventually states that all that we see between the lovers is all that matters- the love itself.
J. Killeen
Apr. '06
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