Art Utopian Images of the Natural State

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's "Bathers Beneath Trees" and Franz Marc's "Bathing Girls." are paintings of the same subject; three women in nature getting ready to bathe and, or, swim. Both are utopian visions of what each artist felt was ideal. The utopian representation of both artists is seen in the use of an idealistic notion of freedom and a personal response to nature. Freedom is seen in the comfortable presence of the nudes and the use of color in nature reflects the artists' perception of utopian existence.

Bathers Beneath Trees is replete with the colors of the island paradise Kirchner thought of as his utopian vision. The tall trees reach to the top of the painting and are done in dark greens with the tree trunks allowed to come forward with the color yellow against a blue and green skyscape. The only blue in the painting is seen in the horizon and part of the skyscape. The depiction of the horizon is a deep royal blue and is reminiscent of an image of earth from space. The sky is filled with a lighter blue mixed with dark blue and a medium green. The foliage at the bottom of the picture carries over the green of the treetops and the color of the women's skin is what is set in contrast.

Two of the women are standing, one in three quarter profile and the other straight on to the audience. The woman slightly behind has a smile on her face. They seem to be in the act of walking down a path - perhaps toward the water. The third woman sits in a somewhat awkward position facing the path (or at least the feet of the other two women). The foliage is dark green and outlined in black, giving it a sense of depth and darkness that brings to mind the word, 'fecund'.

There is no fear, nor is there any worry - just a sense of calm contentment that envelops all that come to partake.
Franz Marc's depiction of Bathing Girls is as filled with light and merriment as Kirchner's painting is full of dense greenery. The trees in this painting bend and sway with a feeling of playful merriment while the three bathers stand and play around a rock painted in white with shadow and greenery. The yellow sky/background swirls around the women and lifts the arms of the trees in a manner reflective of one bather's act of arranging her hair. The women's hair is the color of corn husks two days before harvest and this same light auburn or orange hued brown is repeated in the rocks under their feet. The blue of the sky and water enlivens the painting, while it adds a sense of stability by being the only truly vertical presentation.

The tree on the left, next to the woman managing her hair, is embracing the rock on which it sits. The nudes are done in simple line and shadow; one standing, one bending over and one sitting on the rock in the foreground. Each is engrossed in their own activity and each presents a different view of the process of bathing. All seem confident in their posture and stance, with the standing woman having one foot on the rock, the sitting woman with one leg dangling in the water and the bending woman looking into the background so that her face is away from the audience. Nature here is involved in the joy of living as it happily joins in with those creatures that have come to frolic in the sun and dip their digits in the cooling water.

Looking at Kirchner's Trees in Autumn…