Mutter Mit Tochter 1913

Cuno Amiet’s ‘Mutter Mit Tochter’ is a tender and vivid rendering of a mother and daughter, brought to life with bold colors and expressive brushstrokes. I can imagine Amiet in his studio, stepping back and forth, building up the layers, deciding where to put each stroke, each dab of color. Notice the ochre and the coral in the background against the juicy greens and blues in the mother’s dress. What was he thinking when he decided to paint the mother's face green? What does this mean? Did he paint it, then change it? Look at the daughter’s hand on her mother’s arm, a soft gesture of love, painted with the same care as the features of her face. Amiet clearly knew the work of Gauguin and Van Gogh, who embraced color and explored the emotional impact of a scene. Like those guys, Amiet reminds us that artists are in constant conversation with each other, picking up threads and weaving them into something new and beautiful.