Artwork
Knabe mit Badehose und Strohhut (Boy Wearing Bathing-Trunks and Straw Hat)
Knabe mit Badehose und Strohhut (Boy Wearing Bathing-Trunks and Straw Hat) is an ink print by Lovis Corinth. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Executed on laid paper with black ink, the image centers the figure against a loosely suggested background of other seated and standing forms.
Created in 1915, this drypoint print by German artist Lovis Corinth portrays a young boy in bathing trunks and a straw hat. Executed on laid paper with black ink, the image centers the figure against a loosely suggested background of other seated and standing forms. The composition is compact, emphasizing the solitary stance of the child while hinting at a broader scene through rapid, gestural marks.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a nude youth clothed only in short swimming trunks and a straw hat, his arms relaxed at his sides and his bare feet directed forward. The simplicity of his facial features and posture conveys a moment of casual leisure, while the surrounding, barely defined figures suggest a social setting such as a beach or bathing area, inviting viewers to consider themes of youth and public recreation.
Technique & Style
Corinth employed drypoint, a printmaking method that incises lines directly onto the paper’s surface, producing fine, crisp edges and a characteristic velvety quality. The black ink on laid paper accentuates the contrast between the sharply rendered central boy and the loosely sketched ancillary figures. The overall effect balances precise linear detail with spontaneous, sketch‑like strokes, reflecting Corinth’s shift toward a more expressive, less restrained visual language after his 1911 stroke.
History & Provenance
Lovis Corinth, trained in Paris and Munich, was initially linked to naturalist tendencies before embracing expressionist elements later in his career. This 1915 print belongs to the period following his stroke, when his work became marked by heightened emotional intensity. The piece has been documented in several catalogues of Corinth’s prints and is held in public collections that focus on early 20th‑century German graphic art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lovis Corinth was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism.
