I love this painting, so I looked up the artist to learn more about him. Turns out he was really popular with the nazis during WW2. Not sure what to make of that.
Yes, I was aware of that. Unlike many of his contemporaries - some of whom were forced into exile, or worse - he was willing to adjust his style to suit the tastes of the nazi regime. Whether that makes him a nazi sympathiser or just a cynical opportunist, I have no idea. This painting however predates that era and I really like it.
That’s definitely the face of a dude that invited a girl out on picnic and then fucked her right there on the picnic blanket.
It’s definitely the face of a guy who’s loving life, but there’s no real evidence that they just did The Nasty. I think that’s one of the reasons I like this painting, it forces you to think a little deeper about it.
On an unrelated note, I also like the fact that the lawn they’re on is more than just that suburban-style grass that’s so common in the US these days.
Since we’re discussing lawns, my take on this is that it happens in a city park, not a suburban garden. That’s just my experience of living in a London apartment years ago when GF and I would go to the local park (London has great parks) on a sunny weekend with a blanket, a picnic and a bottle of wine. I assumed this was just a 1920s Berlin equivalent of the same thing.
