Sunset 

Curator: Looking at Arno König's "Sunset," currently held here at the Städel Museum, I’m immediately struck by the almost fleeting nature of the scene, its delicate execution despite a seemingly rough approach. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Faded grandeur. That's what comes to mind. It’s quite raw, almost unfinished. You can practically feel the grain of the paper it's painted on, see the rapid brushstrokes. It feels incredibly immediate, less about perfect depiction, more about capturing a mood. Curator: Precisely! It's rendered in watercolor, and König was definitely embracing the *plein-air* tradition, quickly capturing a moment. The sky itself feels alive with those streaks of pink, lavender, and gold. What is it, do you think, that gives the painting that emotional appeal? Editor: The application of the watercolors feels hurried but deliberate, if that makes any sense. It speaks to the labor and conditions under which the painting was created. The blurring is no accident. Also, the cheap, rough paper and unpretentious materials used would have made this more accessible for him to dash off while outside, if indeed it was. Curator: I think you’re onto something; accessibility matters in his process. With a closer inspection you'll note how economically the trees and shoreline are suggested; he lets the materials almost create themselves, which makes them so striking. They're silhouettes against that vibrant sky, so that they simultaneously capture the calm and reflect a hidden dynamism in the overall natural world. It reflects this period of exploration outside the conventional and academic approach. Editor: Definitely. There’s a democratizing aspect to working like this. Eschewing heavy oils for lighter watercolors and being outside meant shedding that old high art dogma, which demanded studio spaces and expensive materials. Instead, the making itself—the quick sketches, the lightweight tools—become the art itself. That choice alone says volumes about the direction artists like König were headed. Curator: Absolutely! It gives a peek into a philosophy shift; the impression lies more in the experience than the depiction. I look at the image again and realize that, through König’s technique, what he sought was connection, even with the painting itself. Editor: Exactly, the labor of production being a more significant act in art making than achieving "realism" and "prefection," I have definitely had my eyes opened a bit wider about what makes “Sunset” such a compelling landscape work. Thanks for walking me through it.