Take a moment to consider each painting carefully. Read the image by moving your eye from left to right and moving slowly down the painting, noticing all that you can. 

Take in the directionality of the light source and shadows. Do you notice anything that indicates the passage of time?

• Notice the exposure of light on the figure’s skin. 

• Make a mental list of all of the objects in the scene.

• Consider the figure’s pose in each work. 

These two paintings are from a series titled The Travel of Romance. The series started as a singular painting. As it evolved, the artist painted the works as a single event, a time lapse in oil. The paintings follow a traditional narrative structure—they consist of a beginning, middle, and an end. The full Travel of Romance series depicts a woman’s full day, evening to dawn.

The first painting in the series (not included in this image) depicts the female figure crouching, being inspected by a nude man. In the following four works, she crawls like a child on the floor, looks past a mirror that we can assume is reflecting an image of her body, and digs through the contents of a suitcase. In the end, she is alone, curled up in the fetal position. The series evokes the cyclical rhythm of life.  

Fischl speaks about how society has distanced itself from the human experience by becoming unable to deal with our bodies in a public way, causing us to feel ashamed of nakedness. The artist confronts this notion, and his figure’s unclothed body can add to a visual interpretation of her experience in that moment. Closely observe her body language, the tension in her muscles, and the use of her hands. 

For this writing prompt, image that you are utterly alone (like the woman in the paintings) with your desires, fears, and thoughts for a full day. You’re at your most vulnerable. 

Writing in first or third person, use descriptive language to describe your surroundings. What’s around you? What’s the light like? How does your body relate to your space? How long have you been there? Like the paintings, take us through your day from morning until night. Be as realistic or as imaginative as you feel!