The Dance

Even if the agitated skies take up two thirds of the picture, six dancing men and women, only partly clad, define things – the location would seem to be a temple hill. The casual mood and the flowing shapes (in complementary colours, dominated by blue, green and red tones) may refer to Friedrich Nietzsche’s principles of the Dionysian and the Apollonian, with which Franz von Stuck and many other artists so concerned themselves around the turn of the 20th century. Apollo stands among other things for sculpture, architecture, reflection and order, while Dionysus stands for music, intoxication, and sexual transgression. Their rivalling opposition is at the heart of all artistic creativity, Nietzsche believed. In this connection, The Dance can be read as an enquiry into excess and control, as well as into questions of art theory. (Kathrin DuBois)