Selbstbildnis (Self-Portrait)

Corinth employed the soft‑ground etching process, which allows the artist to draw directly onto a coated plate with a brush or other implement, producing a texture that mimics pencil or charcoal. The resulting prints retain the irregular, almost scribbled quality evident in the image, aligning with the expressionist tendencies that marked his later output after his 1911 stroke.

Created toward the end of Corinth’s life, the etching belongs to a series of portrait prints he produced in the 1920s. While specific ownership records are limited, the work is documented as part of the artist’s late period, reflecting the stylistic evolution that followed his involvement with the Berlin Secession and his tenure as its president.

Corinth’s artistic trajectory moved from early naturalist training in Paris and Munich toward a hybrid of impressionist light and expressionist vigor. The 1911 stroke that impaired his right hand prompted a shift to bolder, more gestural techniques, a change that is evident in the loose handling of line and tone in this self‑portrait.