"The Kiss" (1925) by Willem de Kooning
Art Institute of Chicago 🖼
charcoal on wove paper
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There's something about the way the lines around the couple and abstract facial features in Kooning's piece that makes it look to me as if it's an earlier stage of the fusion somehow. But indeed, it's not like it's the same motive.
In earlier renditions of Munch's the Kiss the lovers had not yet merged. This one gives a very different vibe, especially with the use of colour:
that earlier rendition doesn't even look like an embrace. More like a man blending in to a wall.
I'm glad Munch kept working on the theme.