Bathers 1916 - 1917

Otto Mueller made this painting, Bathers, and the surface looks like he might have used distemper on canvas. I can just imagine Mueller building up the figures, then the background, and back again. It is a bit like he’s carving or collaging – a real process of addition and subtraction. I can feel him smudging and blending the paint with a dry brush or rag. Notice how the bodies are gently rendered in earthy, muted colors. He’s not interested in a detailed representation but rather in capturing a sense of form and movement. The palette of greens, browns, and soft pinks feels so contained, yet the composition feels like an opening, a revealing. Doesn’t it remind you of other artists? It has a kinship with the landscapes of Cezanne, or maybe even the figures of Matisse. I reckon this painting is part of a larger conversation about how we see and represent the world. Each brushstroke is part of the same question.