Zwei Mädchen Am Waldrand 1924

Otto Mueller made this drawing, Zwei Mädchen am Waldrand, or Two Girls at the Edge of the Forest, with what looks like pastel crayons in light blues, ochres, and soft yellows. I imagine Mueller outside with his paper on a sunny day, watching two friends in the dappled light under the trees. The way the marks are laid down, kind of scumbled and loose, makes me think about the sheer pleasure of drawing—how the hand moves almost unconsciously to capture what the eye sees. There’s something very direct and honest about this drawing. The girls are nude but not sexualized. Their bodies are part of the landscape, like trees or rocks. Looking at this, I feel invited to imagine the warm earth under my bare feet, the coolness of the shade, the soft breeze. It's not trying to be photo-real; it's about feeling and being. Painters are always looking at other painters' works, riffing off each other, and finding new ways to depict the world. It is in this act of seeing and responding that the painting comes alive.