Cerberus

The “bouncer” at hell's door, virtually insurmountable, yet still mortal, as

shown by Orpheus (also Hercules).  The mythological depictions show him as a

three-headed, doglike creature.  The literary sources have yielded a multitude

of pictorial manifestations; every one of them still imminently definable.  In

the context of Trudy Wiebus’ Dante cycle, Cerberus occupies the fourth position,

as the cycle does not strictly follow literary guidelines.

Inside the very large, close to square painting (almost 3' by 3') two realms of

color diagonally push against one another from the top left to bottom right.

Movement is created by the glowing varnishes – yellow, gold, ochre, vermilion in

the lower region, and their counterpart: a dark, opaque cloud descending in

three semi-arches, weighing down the gold-yellow and appearing to shroud it. The

cloud acts as an active element; the glowing plane becomes carrier as well as

formal resistance.

The realms of color create an extraordinary depth of space, a colorspace without

the aid of additional composition and intensifying each other through the strong

contrasts, bracing the canvas. They focus the gaze of the beholder into the

border between them.

The message remains wonderfully ambiguous; both mentioned regions develop their

own interpretative horizon by way of their contrast. Myth and poetic templates

offer clues, but remain ambiguous.

Dr. K. Keßler