Badende drenge. Fåborg Fjord 1922 - 1926

Peter Hansen painted these bathing boys in Fåborg Fjord with oil on canvas. It's not hyper-realistic, but that doesn't mean it's not real! It reminds me of being a kid, cannonballing into a lake and doing bombs off the pier with my cousins! The choppy brushstrokes of blues, yellows, and browns really make you feel the movement of the water. Hansen captured the playfulness of youth in a way that feels very intimate. I imagine him standing there, feeling the sun on his skin as he watched them. He captured their rosy cheeks and slight awkwardness as they tested the boundaries of the water. I wonder if Hansen struggled to capture the way the light flickered on the water's surface. Did he layer the paint over and over, searching for the perfect combination of colors to convey the feeling of a warm summer day? I think he did a pretty good job, and I'm getting ready for a swim now!