Am Waldesrand. Reiter auf einem Wege, bildeinwärts 1887

Hans Thoma made this watercolor painting, titled 'Am Waldesrand. Reiter auf einem Wege, bildeinwärts', with pigment and water on paper. The washes of color and thin, translucent layering of paint allow light to reflect from the paper underneath, giving the scene a luminous quality. The artist built up the image from thin washes, allowing the water to determine the flow and distribution of the pigment. Thoma applied the paint with fluid brushstrokes, creating soft gradations of color. The strokes vary in direction and intensity, giving a sense of movement, and the texture of the paper adds a tactile quality. The nature of watercolor, and the artist's skillful technique, evoke the play of light on the landscape and the atmospheric perspective. Thoma's work here is a celebration of the landscape genre as he employed common art practices that had a long and revered history at the time. Recognizing the importance of materials, making, and context allows one to understand the artwork's full meaning, while challenging the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.