Zigeunerliebespaar 1916

Otto Mueller made this painting of a couple with oil on canvas, and what strikes me is how he captures a sense of longing with such simplified forms. I imagine Mueller layering these figures into being, moving from dark to light. The figures almost melt into the shadowy ground, but what emerges is an intimate embrace. The bodies are close and connected through color, yet they feel remote and unfulfilled. The woman gazes to the side as the man looks upward with his hand firmly clasped around hers, suggesting a story of longing and perhaps, some disconnect. Mueller simplifies forms into a few key gestures. The line that marks the woman’s collar bone is like a sharp key that locks into the whole painting. He was part of Die Brücke, so I can imagine he was thinking about the way color and form could convey emotion. He reminds me of other painters like Kirchner or Heckel. Painting is like a game of telephone, isn’t it? We’re all passing ideas around, interpreting, and responding in our own way.