In Double Portrait, Helen Lundeberg incorporated different figures and objects to symbolize the stages of her life. The time on the clock represents the child’s age of two and a quarter, and the blank paper suggests her unknown future. She holds a flower bud to emphasize her undeveloped state, whereas the adult figure holds a blooming flower to show that she has experienced sex and love. Lundeberg connected the young girl to the grown woman with a shadow to suggest that the two parts of her life are “psychologically bridged.” The subdued tones and flat colors create a mysterious world where the shadow hovers like a ghost over the shoulders of both figures.
- Title
-
Double Portrait of the Artist in Time
- Artist
- Date
- 1935
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 47 3⁄4 x 40 in. (121.3 x 101.6 cm.)
- Credit Line
-
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Museum purchase
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on fiberboard
- Classifications
- Keywords
-
- Object – flower
- Architecture Interior – domestic – house
- Occupation – art – printmaker
- Portrait female – Lundeberg, Helen – child
- Allegory – time
- Allegory – life
- Portrait female – Lundeberg, Helen – full length
- Object – furniture – clock
- Occupation – art – painter
- Object Number
-
1978.51
- Palette
- Linked Open Data
- Linked Open Data URI
