Cow Study

In this oil sketch of four cows, Fritz once again explored the limits of representational painting. Only the animals’ heads and, in some cases, their front legs are fully drawn and painted, with the white accents on their faces clearly setting them apart from the background. The rest of the picture—the bodies and hind legs, the pasture, and the sky—is only hinted at with few brushstrokes and little paint. The colored linen fabric is unusual as a surface for an oil painting, yet it creates the impression of a rural landscape.