I nuotatori 1932

Carlo Carra’s ‘I nuotatori’—or ‘The Swimmers’—is a hazy, dreamlike scene of figures in the sea made in oil on canvas. It's a painting that feels its way into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I can imagine Carra standing before his easel, brush in hand, thinking about the weight of the human form in water, the way light catches on skin, and the quiet drama of the everyday. The paint is applied in layers, creating a surface that is both tactile and atmospheric. The figures are rendered with a kind of soft monumentality, their forms simplified and rounded. They are not so much portraits as they are embodiments of a feeling—of warmth, of freedom, of the body in motion. And it puts me in mind of other painters who captured the body, like Cezanne. Art is never made in isolation; it’s an ongoing exchange of ideas across time. This painting feels like a conversation, embracing ambiguity, and opening up multiple interpretations.