Little Walter’s Toys 1912

August Macke's oil painting, Little Walter’s Toys, shows a child's playthings—a toy bunny, a matryoshka doll, and some balls—on a green surface. I just love the simple, bright color combinations: that orange-yellow ochre background with the green of the tabletop! I imagine Macke must have set up this scene carefully, maybe even rearranging the objects, pushing them around until he found just the right composition. I feel like I can sense him thinking about how the light hits each object, trying to find the perfect balance between color and form. There’s this naive, childlike quality to it, and a joyfulness in the everyday. The shadows cast by the objects give the painting a sense of depth. It makes me think about how painting itself is a kind of game—a playful exploration of color, form, and space. It reminds me of the still life paintings of artists like Henri Matisse. Ultimately, it’s a quiet, intimate moment frozen in time.