Mueller's work emphasized the relationship between humans and nature. To the left, we're looking at "Nude in Landscape" from 1915 done in tempera on canvas. This is one of the pieces that always captures my attention when I visit the VMFA. The softness of the nude body against the contrast of the rougher paint strokes really grasps my attention. I am not incredibly fond of the color combination he chose but it works. The piece is peaceful to look at while maintaining the integrity of the brushstrokes. I replicated the piece in marker to get a feel for the shapes he used. Once I viewed my drawing, I noticed I made the woman smaller in my picture. I think the original is beautiful and wonder if that is a simple matter of replicating the picture incorrectly or if somehow the media has brainwashed me and I made her skinnier because of that! I don't know! I'm glad I noticed it though! No brainwashing for me! People are beautiful in all shapes and sizes.
