Couple outside 1920

Hermann Lismann created this watercolour work, Couple outside, sometime in the early twentieth century. The painting is striking for its simplification of form. Lismann uses flat, angular shapes and bold colours to depict the figures and landscape. The couple are rendered with elongated forms, their faces mask-like, evoking a sense of detachment. The surrounding landscape is similarly stylized, with geometric hills and abstracted trees, creating an artificial, dream-like setting. Lismann flattens the pictorial space, eschewing traditional perspective in favour of a more decorative arrangement. The intense colour palette is expressive rather than descriptive. This approach reflects the broader artistic concerns of the time. Note how Lismann uses these formal qualities to destabilize traditional representations of couples in nature. The flattened space and simplified forms push beyond mere representation, inviting us to consider the psychological dimensions.