Duality: Reflections Inspired by “The Old Fisherman” Painting

“The Old Fisherman” (1902) by Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka

This image is in the public domain. The author died in 1919, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.

This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

Today I learned about a fascinating painting called “The Old Fisherman” by Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka. This artwork shows one fisherman, but when you place a mirror on one side, you see him as a calm, innocent man praying peacefully. When the mirror is placed on the other side, the fisherman transforms into a darker figure, scheming, dangerous, even scary, like a devil with horns.

This dual image made me think deeply about myself and the people I have met. Like yin and yang, light and shadow, there are always two sides within us. I looked into my own eyes in the mirror and noticed something similar: one side looked calm and content, while the other looked tired, worn, as if it had been through countless battles and tears.

It made me wonder, do we all carry these opposing forces inside us? Are humans born good, only to be shaped by a polluted environment that stains their pure slate? The painting reminds me that good and evil coexist within a single person, sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious, sometimes even unknown to ourselves.

This is why some people, like narcissists or sociopaths, can seem incredibly kind and charming on the outside, while hiding something much darker inside. Yet we are all born innocent, so what changes us? Is it the environment, experiences, or choices that shape this inner battle?

When I looked into my own eyes, I felt two opposing forces wrestling for control, one worried, one confident. Like Csontváry’s fisherman, a mixture of light and dark, peace and turmoil, hope and fear. I’d say the duality of it all is what makes humans HUMAN.

Maybe we are all walking contradictions, holding peace in one hand and chaos in the other. The question is, which side are you listening to?

-Lois ✨