As co-founder of the Worpswede artist colony, Otto Modersohn, together with Fritz Mackensen, Heinrich Vogeler and Fritz Overbeck, turned to a new, atmospheric conception of the landscape around 1890, the painterly expression of which was determined by the experience of nature in the Teufelsmoor region. Liberated from academic conventions, the painters found direct access to the motifs. In the Worpswede period from 1895 onward, they created mainly landscapes that reflect the calm drama of the moorland landscape characterized by dark and strong colors. From time to time, Modersohn inserted children, "moor girls", with the intention to stress the innocence and originality of nature. After the birth of his daughter and the associated tragic death of his wife Paula Modersohn-Becker in 1908, he moved to the village of Fischerhude, which was a little further away. From 1910 his palette brightened and he created summery and light-filled paintings of the Wümmewiesen and the surrounding villages, often showing playing children or his second wife Louise Breling, who gave his life new meaning in 1909. In warm tones, which are noticeably held together by earthy ocher, Modersohn depicts the center of the village, surrounded by tall trees, with the group of children forming the center in the present work. A wonderful combination of an idyllic simplicity and carelessness can be found in both the motif and the relaxed painting style. [KT]