Das Gastmahl des Trimalchio: pl. II (The Banquet of Trimalchio: pl. II)

Corinth employed drypoint to etch thick, jagged lines directly into the paper, creating a tactile, almost violent texture. The strokes are unpolished and spontaneous, resembling hurried sketches rather than finished engravings. Background elements are reduced to minimal, smudged shapes, isolating the figures in a sparse, stage-like space. This raw approach reflects his post-1911 expressionist tendencies, where emotional force outweighed formal precision.

Produced in 1919, the print emerged during a period of personal and national upheaval in Germany. Corinth, recovering from a debilitating stroke in 1911, increasingly turned to printmaking as a means of rapid expression. This work was likely part of a private or limited circulation series, not widely exhibited at the time. Its survival reflects Corinth’s sustained engagement with literary themes in his later years.

Corinth’s engagement with classical literature coincided with broader German cultural interest in antiquity as a mirror for contemporary disorder. His depiction of Trimalchio’s feast resonated with postwar disillusionment, echoing critiques of bourgeois excess. The print’s immediacy aligns with Expressionist tendencies in Weimar-era art, where inner turmoil was rendered through fragmented forms and energetic mark-making.

This print exemplifies Corinth’s late style—unrefined, emotionally charged, and deeply personal. While not widely reproduced during his lifetime, it has since contributed to scholarly understanding of how Expressionist artists reinterpreted classical sources. Its rawness influenced later generations interested in the expressive potential of printmaking beyond traditional techniques.