Bathers c. 1930

Salvatore Pinto made this print called 'Bathers', and it’s a scene of people hanging out on a beach with big umbrellas and a pier in the background. I can imagine Pinto, carefully carving away at a block of wood or linoleum, figuring out how to turn a sunny day at the beach into a composition of black and white shapes, like pieces of a puzzle, isn't it? There are figures scattered around, some under umbrellas, others strolling along the pier. It looks like a complex arrangement, but each mark is so deliberate. I wonder what Pinto was thinking about while making this. Was he interested in the human form? Or was he more interested in the overall pattern, the way the figures and umbrellas created a kind of dance across the surface? I feel a connection to other artists, like Matisse, who loved to play with pattern and design. Artists are always in conversation with each other, you know, borrowing ideas and pushing them in new directions. This print feels both timeless and very much of its time.