Woman, the inexhaustible theme, is of paramount importance in Cucuel’s work. He always saw women as seductive temptresses and this was the quality he sought to present in his compositions. He did so reticently yet invariably making a strong statement. Cucuel’s female nudes – he preferred to depict pairs of them – are invariably beautiful women in the prime of life. Their vitality dominates the picture. Delicate carnation blends joyously with the mid-summer landscape on Lake Starnberg, where the artist chose to live. His unerring judgement in creating painterly effects is here linked with virtuosity of handling. However, Cucuel’s mastery of his medium has kept him from the temptations of pretention and affectation. Composition and handling are here felicitously united.