In ‘Brown Eyes and a Blue Flower', Fernand Khnopff created one of his favourite image compositions: the face of a woman with her forehead cut off, in a tondo and close to the picture plane, so that the entire work looks almost like a mirror. The woman's face is inspired by Khnopff's beloved sister Marguerite, whom he saw as the ideal virgin. By cutting off her forehead, the artist showcased his belief in women's intellectual inferiority. The mysterious face, surrounded by a transparent veil, has a penetrating look. The cyclamen and pearl in the dish may be a nod to Saint Margaret of Antioch, the patron saint of expectant mothers. The original gold passe-partout represents a halo, which boosts the sacred character of the composition.
| Artist |
Fernand Khnopff
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | Brown Eyes and a Blue Flower |
| Date | ca. 1905 |
| Period | 20th century |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signatures (names) bottom left: <p><span style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12.0pt;">FERNAND KHNOPFF</span></p> |
| monogram bottom right, outside the depiction: <p><span style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12.0pt;">FK</span></p> | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type |
pastels (visual works)
AAT
gouache AAT |
| Inventory number | 1955-F |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Delmotte-Baertsoen (coll.) Ghent 1955 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1955-F |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/2388/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300189808 figures (representations) AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
11Q71441
chalice
Iconclass
22C4(BLUE) colours, pigments, and paints: blue Iconclass 22C4(BROWN) colours, pigments, and paints: brown Iconclass 25G41 flowers Iconclass 25G41(CYCLAMEN) flowers (CYCLAMEN) Iconclass 31A2212 eyes Iconclass 31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass 31B3 dream Iconclass 31B4 hypnosis and suggestion Iconclass 31D15 adult woman Iconclass 49D36 circle (~ planimetry, geometry) Iconclass 51GG5 Invisibility Iconclass 54C4 Temptation; 'Tentatione' (Ripa) Iconclass 56F Desire and Aversion Iconclass 56F1 Desire; 'Desiderio' (Ripa) Iconclass 57A661 Spiritualization Iconclass 61B111 anonymous historical person portrayed alone Iconclass 61BB2 historical persons - BB - woman Iconclass 85 fables Iconclass |
| School / Style | Symbolism (artistic concept) AAT |
| Fernand Khnopff (Fonds Richard de Moor). - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] |
| Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Tekeningen, pastels en aquarellen; Inventaris / Moniek Nagels. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 1988 (p. 27) |
| Fin de Siècle : deel 1. Belgische tekeningen, pastels en prenten van 1885 tot 1905 ; deel 2. Combaz, Jo, Livemont : De verzameling L. Wittamer-De Camps (tentoonstelling Brussel, ASLK-Galerij, 15 maart - 2 juni 1991) / Marc Lambrechts, Anne Adriaens-Pannier, Pierre Baudson. - Brussel : ASLK, 1991 (p. 86-87, cat. 47 (ill.)) |
| James Ensor : Schrecken ohne Ende (Ausstellung Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum, 12. Oktober 2008 - 8. februar 2009) / Gerhard Finckh, Joachim Heusinger von Waldegg, Herwig Todts, Norbert Hostyn. - Wuppertal : Von der Heydt-Museum, 2008 |
| Belgische schone : Ensor tot Magritte ; Hoogtepunten uit de verzameling van het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent (tentoonstelling Laren, Singer Laren, 16.06 - 30.08.2015) / Johan De Smet, Jan Rudolph De Lorm. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2015 ; Laren : Singer Laren, 2015 ; Heule : Uitgeverij Snoeck, 2015 (cat. 19 (ill. p. 39)) |
| Fernand Khnopff : le maître de l'énigme ; L'album de l'exposition (Paris, Petit Palais, 11.12.2018 - 17.03.2019) / Michel Draguet, Dominique Morel. - Paris : Paris musées, 2018 (p. 93) |
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