Tennis players by the sea
This sketch, the basis for two large-format paintings with the same motif (1901/27 and 1902/2), was made in the summer of 1901 in Scheveningen after the testimony of Liebermann's biographer (Hancke, p. 405). The figures are captured in their movement in a fluid, broad brushstroke and set on the primed cardboard. In contrast to the two executed versions, in which Liebermann also incorporated details such as the missing net between the parties, this sketch appears more lively, fresh and convincing. Without the feet becoming visible, the silhouettes of the two ladies in the foreground flit across the lawn, the wind plucks at the hems of the clothes, the bodies twitch in motion. In contrast, the figures in the two large compositions performed in the Berlin studio appear almost stiff. In the center, a fence of bars separates the playing field from a group of spectators and fleetingly painted beach chairs.
In a photograph from 1902 (p. 529) showing Liebermann working on the Parrot Alley (1902/27) in front of an easel, this study can be seen leaned against the foot of a second easel further left in the room (Matthias Eberle, Liebermann Werkverzeichnis 1899/05);
signature lower right: M Liebermann 1903 (subsequently signed and dated)