Lovis Corinth, In Bed, 1909, Etching

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Description

Lovis Corinth (1858 Tapiau - 1925 Zandvoort), In bed, 1909. Drypoint on laid paper with watermark, 14.3 cm x 19 … Read more Lovis Corinth (1858 Tapiau - 1925 Zandvoort), In bed, 1909. Drypoint on laid paper with watermark, 14.3 cm x 19 cm (image), 29 cm x 39.3 cm (sheet size), signed “Lovis Corinth” in pencil lower right.
- the wide margin partially wavy and with tidemark lower right, minimally light-stained and slightly stained



- Reverie -


The etching depicts Lovis Corinth's wife, Charlotte Berend-Corinth. It is likely a portrait taken after the birth of their daughter, Wilhelmine, as indicated by her bare décolletage. Her hand with the wedding ring rests there as well. Her gaze is directed almost dreamily upward. This creates an atmosphere of relaxed fulfillment, reinforced by the etching needle's breathy yet concise style.




About the artist


Determined to become an artist, Corinth entered the Königsberg Art Academy in 1876, where he studied under Otto Günther, who introduced him to Weimar plein-air painting. On Günther's recommendation, Corinth moved to the Munich Art Academy in 1880. There, under the influence of the circle of Leibl and Wilhelm Trübner, he adopted a naturalistic approach to art that was opposed to academic history painting.
After interrupting his studies for a year to do voluntary military service, Corinth went on a study trip to Italy in 1883 and the following year to Antwerp, where he took art lessons from Paul Eugène Gorge. from 1884 to 1887, Corinth stayed in Paris and devoted himself mainly to nude painting at the private Académie Julian.
After a stopover in Berlin, where he met Max Klinger, Walter Leistikow and Karl Stauffer-Bern, Corinth lived in Munich from 1891 to 1901 and became a founding member of the Munich Secession, which was founded in 1892 by Max Liebermann, Otto Eckmann, Thomas Theodor Heine, Hans Olde, Hans Thoma, Wilhelm Trübner, Franz von Stuck and Fritz von Uhde. The Secession gave rise to the Free Association of the XXIV or Munich 24, to which Corinth also belonged.
In 1894, under the tutelage of Otto Eckmann, Corinth learnt the art of etching and, in the field of painting, developed the wet-on-wet style that would characterise his work and lead to the relief-like texture of his paintings.
His relationship with Berlin became more and more intense. When he attended the first exhibition of the Berlin Secession in 1899, he painted a portrait of Liebemann, who in turn painted a portrait of Corinth. After the Munich Secession rejected his painting Salome, he finally moved to Berlin, where the painting was admired at the Secession exhibition and Corinth - through Leistikow - became a much sought-after portraitist.
In 1903 Corinth opened an art school and in 1904 he married his first pupil, Charlotte Berend. His first solo exhibition was organised by Paul Cassirer. In Berlin, Corinth also began to devote himself to the theatre. He worked with Max Reinhardt, designing sets and costumes.
Following Max Liebermann's resignation, Corinth was elected chairman of the Secession in 1911. In the same year, he suffered a stroke that paralysed half of his body. He then devoted himself intensively to graphic art and opened up the field of book illustration.
In 1913, Paul Cassirer organised the first major retrospective of Corinth's work, and in 1918, on his 60th birthday, the Berlin Secession devoted a major exhibition to his work. In 1923, on his 65th birthday, his artistic career was crowned with a extense solo exhibition at the National Gallery.
Even after the 'Freie Sezession' split from the 'Berliner Sezession', Corinth remained in the original association, becoming chairman again in 1915 and professor at the Berlin Academy of Arts the following year.
In 1919, the Corinths purchased the retreat at the Walchensee in Bavaria, which Corinth captured in more than 60 paintings. Corinth died in 1925 on a trip to Amsterdam to see his great idols, Frans Hals and Rembrandt. See less