Couple by the Lake

• Ernst Stöhr (1860–1917)
• 1897/1903
• Oil on canvas
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

The couple are leaning over a railing on the lakeshore, their gazes turned away from each other as they look into the distance. Ernst Stöhr, one of the co-founders of the Vienna Secession, used fragmented dots of colors instead of mixing them. The blue and violet dots dominating the painting convey a sense of melancholy and wistfulness. Stöhr liked to paint sentimental evening scenes with fading lights that contain philosophical questions about the meaning of life.