Zwei Mädchen Mit Gegabeltem Baum 1918

Otto Mueller made this print called Zwei Mädchen Mit Gegabeltem Baum, or Two Girls with a Forked Tree, by hand, and it looks like he's really digging into the material, isn't he? There's a real scratchy, textural quality, especially in the foliage, that suggests he's using the printmaking process to draw. It’s almost like he's carving the image out of the paper itself. Look at those dark outlines of the trees and figures - so spare and elegant. The way he uses the negative space to define the bodies is beautiful. They're present but also kind of dissolving into the landscape. It reminds me of some of Paula Modersohn-Becker's more simplified figurative work. There's a similar sense of quiet, intimate observation. Both artists are part of a conversation, exploring how to capture the human form within the natural world without getting bogged down in detail, leaving room for the viewer to bring their own interpretation.