Neger Und Tänzerin

Otto Mueller completed this image of a black figure and dancer in 1903, seven years before joining Die Brücke. His elongated figures and muted earthy tones distinguish him from the group's characteristic vibrant colors. The scene shows two figures, one nude.

Mueller used distemper on raw canvas, creating his distinctive matte finish. He recovered the tempera medium for the Expressionists, and colleague Ernst Ludwig Kirchner praised this contribution. In 1937, the Nazis seized 357 of Mueller's works as "degenerate art." This painting remains in a private collection.