A Hunter in the Dunes 1914

Max Liebermann painted 'A Hunter in the Dunes' with oils, and I’m guessing, with a pretty thick brush. You can see how the paint is just slapped on, especially in the dunes, with these energetic strokes of green and brown. It's like he’s trying to capture not just the look, but also the feeling of being out in that rugged landscape. Look at the hunter’s coat. Liebermann uses these broad strokes to define the folds and shadows, but it’s all so immediate, so present. The colour palette is restrained, mostly browns and greens, which adds to the overall sense of earthiness. The sky is barely there. This reminds me of Courbet, someone else who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty with paint. Both artists embrace ambiguity, preferring the messy, vibrant quality of lived experience to fixed meanings.