Dancer in Green 1912

Max Weber made this watercolor, Dancer in Green, on a piece of paper. It's all about the feeling of movement, like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment. The way he's used the watercolors is interesting. The paint is applied thinly, almost like a wash, allowing the paper to peek through, and it keeps everything light and airy. Notice the sharp angles of the dress. It’s like he’s broken down the dancer into geometric forms, a bit Cubist, right? Then, there’s the contrast between the pale green of the dress and the darker tones of the dancer’s skin. It gives the figure a sense of depth, even though it's mostly lines and flat planes of color. For me, Weber's dancer feels a bit like the work of Marsden Hartley, another American modernist who was fascinated by the body and the expressive possibilities of color. It’s like they’re both having a conversation across time, exploring different ways of seeing and representing the human form.