Women on the Grass 1936

Camil Ressu painted ‘Women on the Grass’ with oils on canvas. The marks left by Ressu’s brush are evident in the texture of the composition, from the grassy banks to the shimmering water and the foliage in the trees. He clearly uses paint to create form and volume, especially visible in the women’s garments with their dabs of color. The process of painting is important here because Ressu is showing us the dignity of labor through the act of making. These women may be taking a break, but the artist certainly isn’t. There's an incredible amount of work involved in applying these thick layers of paint onto the canvas. We might even say that this painting is a kind of portrait, not only of the women depicted, but also of the artist at work. It reminds us that all art is made by someone, through skilled physical effort, and with materials that have their own stories to tell.