Dämmerung Am Gardasee 1906

Hans Thoma painted this scene of twilight on Lake Garda with oil on canvas. It's got a kind of dreamy, fairy-tale atmosphere, right? I'm really drawn to the way the light filters through the trees, giving everything a soft, almost hazy quality. It’s as if Thoma wasn't just painting what he saw, but also how he felt being there. I can almost feel the dampness of the grass! The colours are mostly muted greens and browns, with touches of light on the cows and the boys. Up close, you can see how Thoma applied the paint in layers, building up the textures. Take a look at the way he suggests the leaves and foliage, it’s more about capturing the feeling of a lush scene rather than a photographic likeness. It’s this sense of suggestion, of leaving room for the viewer’s imagination, that really makes the piece for me. I am reminded of Caspar David Friedrich, who also sought to capture the sublime aspects of nature through paint. Both artists see artmaking as an ongoing conversation, ideas flowing across time.