Liebespaar 1920

Otto Mueller made this painting, Liebespaar, using oil on canvas. Looking at this canvas, I can almost feel Mueller in the studio, building up layers of earthy reds, creams, and browns, trying to find that perfect balance between form and feeling. It’s like he's coaxing the figures out of the paint. There’s a simplicity here, yet so much emotion. The woman’s gaze, averted but knowing. And then there’s the embrace—the guy looks like he’s kind of smiling, but the whole scene feels melancholy. I’m wondering if he’s thinking about Matisse or maybe even some earlier German painters as he’s putting it together? Artists riff off each other, after all. They respond to each other across time, building on what’s come before. It’s a constant conversation, an exchange of ideas. And painting? It’s a way to express something, maybe without even knowing exactly what that something is. It’s about feeling and letting it come through.