Girls Blowing Bubbles

**Conservation of this watercolor was made possible by a generous contribution from Dena and Al Naylor.** Two girls concentrate as they blow soap bubbles from straws. Though they are of tender age, angular black outlines define their facial features, hands, and clothing. While the artist captures the iridescence of the bubbles with a superbly refined gradient of blue wash against white paper, he gives the girls chartreuse skin. Decisive, sharp-edged patches of color set off watery patches that seemingly leave much of their effect up to chance. In this moment of silent concentration, the scene radiates energy. The artist, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff balances opposites: the charming and the grotesque; control and abandon. In the early 20th century, Schmidt-Rottluff was one of the leaders of the German Expressionist art movement. He and his peers believed their purpose was not to create images of objects but to convey inner concepts. They transformed visible reality and reduced their creations to what is essential. What are we to make of this image? Schmidt-Rottluff leaves that up to the viewer. Is their pallor tied to the traditional momento mori connotation of bubble blowing? Are they simply two children at play? In any case, he presents us with a humble, nearly universal experience and allows us to explore it through fresh eyes.