The Dance of Life by Edvard Munch
The three female figures in the foreground of this painting represent the three biological stages of Woman. The young, rosy-cheeked woman on the far left is wearing a white dress, a symbol of virginity and youth. She’s about to pluck a flower which might stand for “love” or, perhaps, her loss of virginity (deflowering). The woman on the far right who’s dressed in black – symbolic of death – is the oldest of the three. Her face is pale and her cheeks are sunken. She’s got her hands clasped together while sadly watching the romantic pair dancing (or perhaps gazing at her own past). She feels lonely, ignored and isolated. The physically mature woman in the middle is wearing a red dress representing sexuality and strong emotions. (She’s a temptress as women are often depicted in Symbolist works.) She’s lovingly grabbing and holding onto her partner’s hand. One of her arms is over his shoulder and her dress is wrapped around his feet. Even some of hair locks are pointing towards him. As for her man, the joy of the moment is so intense that his eyes are closed.
You might view the couple in the middle as two having a “vibrant” Dance of Life, or the whole painting as a metaphor of the “Dance of Death” since that’s the ultimate destination for this woman, as everyone else. The sun setting over the sea in the background is creating a strange, phallic reflection. The sunset is perhaps an allusion to the similarity between the day reaching an end and a woman, or man, eventually meeting their demise.
Learn to identify characteristics of Symbolist art