Bathers 1915

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour painting, Bathers, sometime in his career. The image feels so fleeting, the marks have a breezy looseness, like a snapshot of a happy day. Looking closely, you can see how Prendergast lets the watercolor do its thing. See how the blues melt into the skin tones, how the brushstrokes drag a little? The paper peeks through here and there, giving it a light, airy feel, like he’s barely touching the surface. There’s a real joy in watching the pigment spread and settle on the page. It's like he’s not trying to control it too much, but rather letting the medium guide him. This reminds me a lot of Bonnard. Both artists share that love of flattened space and seeing figures melt into the landscape, a kind of dreamy, sun-drenched vision. Prendergast is part of an ongoing dance of artists looking and responding to each other, and what I love most is that there’s no right or wrong answer.