Scenă japoneză 1913

Samuel Mutzner’s Japanese Scene, shows us a mother and children in what I imagine is Kyoto. I love the muted palette, soft tans and browns, pops of red, and the artist's light touch. It's mostly watercolor, I think, though there are some darker marks made with maybe a crayon or pastel. See how the darker lines make the umbrella pop? The thinness of the paint makes the surface feel absorbent and dry, and the color feels like it’s sitting on the surface. There’s something lovely about the way the artist's hand reveals itself in the marks, almost like a sketch. There’s real feeling in the way the subjects are handled, in the details of the children's faces, the folds in the mother's dress, and the design of the umbrella. This piece reminds me of an early painting by Bonnard, who also worked in a muted, intimate way. Both artists seem to be interested in capturing a feeling, a moment, rather than a perfectly rendered representation. For Mutzner, like Bonnard, the painting is more about looking than knowing.