Blumengarten 1936

"Blumengarten," or "Flower Garden," is an oil painting by the Swiss artist Cuno Amiet, but when it was made is not known. Here, Amiet's brushwork really sings. Look closely, and you'll see he’s adopted a pointillist technique of tiny dots, a labor-intensive method popularized in the late 19th century. It gives the impression of sunlight dappling the scene, an effect perfectly suited to the garden setting. This application of paint gives a lively shimmering quality, animating the ground as much as the foliage. It also highlights the artist’s physical effort, the time taken to build up the image dot by dot. While not a traditional craft, painting has its own set of acquired skills. In the 19th century, there was a growing recognition of the work involved in artistic creation, and the market value of paintings reflected this. In “Blumengarten,” we see Amiet exploring both the expressive potential of paint and the economics of labor.