Max Ackermann’s painting depicts a view of his home in Horn on Lake Constance, combining landscape, architecture, and figurative representation in a harmonious composition. The scene is imbued with a gentle, almost meditative atmosphere. At the center is a lovingly tended garden, where a profusion of flowers blooms in intense colors. The plants seem to unfold almost rhythmically in space—a reference to Ackermann’s preoccupation with dynamic compositional principles.

Several human figures can be seen among the flowers and near the house. They are not individualized in a portrait-like manner, but are depicted in a loose, almost sketch-like style. They reflect Ackermann’s view of movement as an essential part of life – and thus also as a central element of his artistic conception.

Max Ackermann, who always sought the connection between spiritual abstraction and sensual experience in his work, understood movement in the great outdoors not only as physical activity, but also as an artistic principle. In his later work, he developed an “art of movement” based on inner rhythms, energetic lines, and color vibrations. In this painting, too, the forms are gently modulated, the lines are organic, and the color fields vibrate in a balanced tension.

The architecture of the house—restrained and nestled in greenery—forms a calming center in the composition, while Lake Constance in the background lends depth and breadth. The lake, slightly shrouded in mist, opens the scene to the horizon and underscores the contemplative dimension of the painting.