Abendlandschaft 1925

Otto Mueller made this painting, Abendlandschaft, with tempera on canvas. It's hard to pin down the exact date but it's like Mueller is inviting us to witness a moment, not just a landscape. The colors are earthy and muted, but he puts them down with such a directness, like he's trying to capture the fleeting light of dusk. Look at how he builds up the layers of paint, how the textures and colors play off each other. The way the branches twist and turn feels almost like a dance, a record of his own physical movement as he made the painting. And there, in the lower-right corner, notice how the thick yellow paint seems to glow, like a hidden source of light illuminating the scene. The Fauves come to mind: that same sense of immediacy and raw emotion, but with a distinctly German sensibility. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, building on what came before while forging its own path.