Zwei Am Teichrand Sitzende Mädchenakte 1924

Otto Mueller made this painting of two girls by a pond with oil on canvas. Look how the grey wash of the paint moves around, describing the figures so simply. What’s so exciting to me is how he's not trying to make a photo, but just trying to catch a feeling about these people. I can imagine Mueller in his studio, stepping back, squinting, adding a bit here, wiping away a bit there. He lays down thin layers of paint, letting the canvas breathe. See how he suggests their forms with just a few strokes? It's like he’s saying, "Here are some people, and here’s some water, now let’s see what happens when we put them together." It’s this back-and-forth, this willingness to let the painting be itself, that makes it so alive. It puts me in mind of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another German artist who was trying to push painting to be free. These artists are all in dialogue, across time, figuring out new ways to see, and to be.