Group of People with Dog, 1930

Apart from still lifes, landscapes, and portraits, Robert Kohl (1891–1944) painted many urban street scenes. The picture shows a group of people in dark clothes gathered around a center. They take an interested look at a written document that appears in the center as a bright white patch of color. Only the dog is totally indifferent to what is going on and walks away without anybody noticing. Kohl’s explorative examination with French and German Expressionism becomes manifest in the expressive dynamic brushwork, which suggest an observation in passing. The limitation to just a few somber and darkish colors evokes a sense of the bleak time after the Great Depression of 1929. The scene as Kohl depicts it fascinated is riveting because of its disquieting atmosphere and mysterious suspense.

AK, 2021