Artwork
Mönch mit Erhobenem Blick (Monk Gazing Upward)
Mönch mit Erhobenem Blick (Monk Gazing Upward) is an ink print by Lovis Corinth. It dates from 1916 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1916, this drypoint print by German artist Lovis Corinth portrays a monk whose head is tilted back, eyes directed upward, and hands clasped before his chest. Executed in black ink on a light‑colored Holland wove paper, the image relies on stark tonal contrasts that emphasize the figure’s face and gesture against a minimal background.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a solitary religious figure in a moment of contemplation or prayer, his hood drawn up and half‑shrouded in shadow. The upward gaze suggests a spiritual focus, while the clasped hands convey devotion, inviting viewers to consider themes of faith, introspection, and the search for transcendence.
Technique & Style
Corinth employed drypoint, a intaglio method that produces soft, velvety lines through the burr left on the plate. The print’s loose, sketch‑like strokes and high‑contrast chiaroscuro reflect the artist’s shift after his 1911 stroke toward a more expressionistic handling, merging impressionistic immediacy with intensified emotional tone.
History & Provenance
Lovis Corinth, trained in Paris and Munich and later a leading figure of the Berlin Secession, produced this piece during the later phase of his career, when his work increasingly emphasized expressive force. The print is documented as part of his post‑stroke output, illustrating his evolving approach to printmaking in the final years of his life.
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.
Untitled
Des Künstlers Schwiegermutter (The Artist's Mother-in-Law)
Kreuzigung, nach dem Altarbild in Tölz (Crucifixion, after the Altarpiece at Tölz)
Der Kuss (The Kiss)
Head of an Old Man
Prince Rupert receiving the Charter of the Hudson Bay Company from Charles II
Self-Portrait with Hand on Forehead (Selbstbildnis mit der Hand an der Stirn)
Evening at the Window
Christus am Kreuz (The Crucifixion)
La Muse Accoudée
In My Dream I Saw in the Sky a Face of Mystery
La Vieille: Que Crains-tu? Un large trou Noir! Il est vide peut-etre? (What are you afraid of? A wide black hole! It is empty, perhaps!)