Man in the Universe, 1933

The confrontation between man and woman is a recurring theme in Frits Van den Berghe's work. From 1928 onwards, the human couple enters into an ever fascinating, ever changing dialogue - the meeting of two human children, driven to each other by the demands of nature. The struggle of the sexes, like a dark urge, determines the keynote of many of his works. In Man in the Universe, he brings together the motifs that have dominated his work for years: the naked woman, the bare tree and, in the middle, the robust, somewhat stocky figure of the man. Van den Berghe gives the journey through the universe the meaning of an eternal quest for the essence of the woman.