Artist Joseph Cornell created imaginary worlds inside boxes. He collected special objects from antique stores, from the penny arcade, from the fair, or he found things along the street. He filled boxes with these special objects for his sick brother who couldn't leave his house. These objects represented a world of hope and fantasy.

Joseph Cornell, Untitled, (chest with sponges), c. 1948

Odd Nerdrum's mysterious paintings show people in large, dark, and serious scenes. He is a master of REALISM. He works directly from models whom he poses wearing special costumes. The artist grinds his own pigments (oil paint) and applies many layers to get rich, dark depths. He completes only seven or eight pictures a year. He lives and works in Oslo, Norway. Enjoy the mystery of the twins seen in this painting.

Are the twins sleeping?

Where are these beds?

Why have the beds been so carefully made?

Why does the artist have us looking at them from above?

Odd Nerdrum, The Sleeping Twins, 1987 (detail)