Fifth Eclogue: Woodland Nymphs Weeping the Loss of Daphnis (Nymphs des Bois dansant le contrapas) Possibly 1926

Aristide Maillol created this print of nymphs, their bodies draped with garlands, using lithography to explore themes of loss and mourning. The color is a gorgeous terracotta, like a memory fading into sepia, or maybe it's the color of sun-baked earth after a long drought. Look at how the lines create their forms – thin, delicate, but with a real sense of weight and volume. Maillol’s process is almost sculptural, carving out these figures with light and shadow. The garlands themselves are so interesting, at once binding the figures together and creating a kind of barrier. Is this a dance of mourning, or a dance of solidarity? Maillol's love of classical forms reminds me of Picasso, but here, he finds a way to make it his own. Both artists understand that art isn’t about perfection, but about the messy, beautiful, and sometimes heartbreaking process of being human.