Die Bergmäher 1907

Albin Egger-Lienz painted "Die Bergmäher" with oil on canvas, and the way he's laid down the color feels almost sculptural, like he's building up the forms with each stroke. It's not about blending but about letting each mark contribute to the overall shape. The texture is really what grabs me. Look at the way he handles the sky—thick, almost chalky strokes that give it this heavy, brooding feeling. Then compare that to the figures, where the paint seems a bit thinner, more worked in, especially around their faces. It's like he's using the materiality of the paint itself to tell the story. Notice the rough texture on the mowers’ hands, each stroke seems to mirror the labour of their task. It reminds me a bit of Courbet, the way he wasn't afraid to show the grit and weight of working-class life. Ultimately, Egger-Lienz shows us how to see painting not just as representation, but as a physical act of making that carries its own kind of truth.