Black Dancer with Satyr

A dancing Satyr is on the background, apparently a full figure portrait. His posture, arching backward , is typical in the iconography of the ecstatic dance of Maenads and Satyrs, the retinue of the God who dies Dionysus. His figure is a suffering one, strained limbs and painful expression. An example of the Willow Chair by Charles R. Mackintosh separates him from a splendid black model. In front of him, she imitates and slightly mocks his movements, she displays a similar posture, yet much more comfortable, and seduces. Colors are paradoxical, blue and red of her skin are bold against the blue of the chair, while green and yellow surround the Satyr , enhancing the desperate movements of his dance. So, this sensual woman prevails on the weary, insane Satyr, as life versus agony.