Akt Auf Sofa Liegend 1919

Otto Mueller made this painting with oil on canvas, and you can see how the painting itself emerges through these intuitive, shifting marks. It's like he's feeling his way through the image. I imagine Mueller standing there, brush in hand, considering how to capture the light on the body, the weight of the form. There’s a real tenderness in the way he’s handled the paint, it’s pretty thin but there's also a certain awkwardness that makes it so appealing, like he’s not trying too hard to be perfect. The green zig-zags behind the figure are so cool and strange! And the lizard-like form on the bottom, is that a pet? Or a figment of the imagination? This painting reminds me a little of Matisse, with its focus on color and form, but Mueller brings his own unique sensibility to it. It's like he's whispering secrets about the human condition, inviting us to lean in and listen closely. It’s this kind of exchange that keeps painting alive, with artists constantly riffing off one another across time, creating something new each time.