Bathers: Two Nudes in an Exotic Landscape 1905

Jean Metzinger made "Bathers: Two Nudes in an Exotic Landscape" using a mosaic of brushstrokes to create a shimmering surface. I can imagine Metzinger applying each little daub of paint, building up the image dot by dot. It feels like he’s constructing the scene from pure color, with the figures almost emerging out of the landscape itself. These figures, they could be anyone, caught in a moment of quiet contemplation amidst all this exuberant color. The landscape itself is not really a landscape but a series of textures and colors, a kind of optical buzz. Look at the way he uses complementary colors to create contrast and vibration! It is not realism, but a feeling of being in nature. It reminds me a little of Seurat, of course, but with a slightly different sensibility, maybe a bit more playful. These artists are all in conversation, pushing and pulling on each other's ideas, creating a beautiful mess of visual possibilities.