Artwork

Badende (Bathers) from Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart (German Printmakers of Our Time)

Otto Mueller , 1920

Badende (Bathers) from Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart (German Printmakers of Our Time) is an ink print by Otto Mueller. It dates from 1920 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1920 by Otto Mueller, a German painter linked to the Die Brücke movement, *Badende* (Bathers) is a lithographic print included in the collective volume *Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart*. The publication assembles fifteen lithographs alongside woodcuts, photomechanical reproductions and a dry‑point, presenting a snapshot of contemporary German printmaking.

Subject & Meaning

The image presents three nude figures arranged within a sparse, natural setting that suggests a forest clearing or meadow. The composition balances seated and standing poses, and the stark, angular rendering emphasizes the bodies’ interaction with an untamed landscape, inviting contemplation of the human form amid an unrefined environment.

Technique & Style

Executed on a smooth lithographic stone, the work exploits the medium’s capacity for both bold, dark lines and a grainy, textured surface. Mueller’s hand‑drawn marks appear as sharp, uneven strokes that verge on scribble, lending the scene a raw, expressive quality characteristic of early twentieth‑century German expressionism.

History & Provenance

*Badende* was produced specifically for the 1920 portfolio *Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart*, a bound collection intended to showcase the output of leading German printmakers of the period. The volume circulated among collectors and institutions, situating Mueller’s lithograph within a broader narrative of interwar German graphic art.