Artwork
Selbstbildnis im Pelz (Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat)
Selbstbildnis im Pelz (Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat) is an ink print by Lovis Corinth. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Lovis Corinth’s *Selbstbildnis im Pelz* is a 1913 drypoint print executed on laid paper. Rendered entirely in black, the work presents the artist seated in a fur coat, his hands resting on his knees and his gaze turned slightly away, conveying a solemn demeanor.
Subject & Meaning
The image functions as a personal self‑portrait, allowing Corinth to examine his own identity through the materiality of the fur garment. The serious expression and restrained pose suggest introspection, possibly reflecting the artist’s health challenges following his 1911 stroke.
Technique & Style
Created by incising lines directly into a copper plate, the drypoint method yields crisp, slightly fuzzy edges that give the drawing a spontaneous, sketch‑like quality. Corinth’s handling of line is loose and rapid, aligning with the expressionist tendencies that emerged in his work after his stroke.
History & Provenance
Corinth, who had trained in Paris and Munich and later led the Berlin Secession, produced this print during the final phase of his career. The work exemplifies his shift from earlier impressionist influences toward a more expressionist approach in the years preceding his death in 1925.
Context
By 1913, Corinth’s artistic language combined the atmospheric concerns of impressionism with the heightened emotionality of expressionism. This self‑portrait, executed in a medium traditionally associated with drawing, reflects his interest in exploring new graphic possibilities within the modern German art scene.
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.
