“Stop to appreciate the mesmerizing Art Nouveau design of "The Twins." Its flat, decorative forms and rich, layered colors create a captivating sense of elegant mystery, drawing you into its intricate world.”
In "The Twins," two identical figures, perhaps sisters or reflections, emerge from a swirling, almost hypnotic background. Their faces are rendered with a stylized simplicity, framed by an abundance of dark, flowing hair that echoes the organic, vine-like patterns behind them. The composition is strikingly flat, typical of the Art Nouveau aesthetic that was gaining traction in the 1890s, emphasizing decorative line and form over traditional depth. This print, a color zincograph, showcases a bold use of limited colors, primarily deep greens, blues, and a warm ochre, which are layered to create a rich, almost jewel-toned effect. The overall impression is one of elegant mystery, a design that feels both ancient and remarkably modern for its time, drawing the viewer into its intricate, almost dreamlike world.
- Artist
- William H. Bradley
- Date
- 1894
- Medium
- Color zincograph on paper
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- Image: 48 × 33 cm (18 15/16 × 13 in.); Sheet: 51 × 35.5 cm (20 1/8 × 14 in.)
- Collection
- Prints and Drawings
- Culture
- United States
- Credit line
- Gift of George F. Porter
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The way the women's hair mirrors the organic patterns in the background.
The subtle color shifts in the background, created by layering different inks.
The stylized, almost mask-like quality of the twins' faces.
The single, delicate flower tucked into the hair of the figure on the right.
1 more detail is waiting.
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William H. Bradley
1868–1962Further Works by Bradley
Bradley His Book - June
1888 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Chicago Sunday Tribune
1888 · Art Institute of Chicago
Whiting's Ledger Papers
1888 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Blue Lady: Poster Advertising the Chap-Book
1894 · Art Institute of Chicago
Thanksgiving, for The Chap-Book
1895 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Modern Poster
1895 · Art Institute of Chicago
Harper's Weekly-Christmas, 1899
1899 · Art Institute of Chicago
More works to explore
Beyond Bradley: works from the same years.
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Woman Walking in a Garden
Vincent van Gogh · 1887 · Frans Buffa & sons
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Still Life with Crayfish
Mikhail Larionov · 1900 · Museum Ludwig
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
Okada Saburosuke · 1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Léon Clapisson
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Frauenkopf vor Sonnenblumen
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1906 · Museum Frieder Burda
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Aha oe feii? (What! Are You Jealous?)
Paul Gauguin · 1894 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Sofa
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1894 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook
Camille Pissarro · 1894 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
House and Courtyard
John Singer Sargent · 1895 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Child's Bath
Mary Cassatt · 1893 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Hands
Edvard Munch · 1893 · Munch Museum
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Loire
Alfred Sisley · 1896 · Art Institute of Chicago
