Artwork
Thomas Corinth
Thomas Corinth is an ink print by Lovis Corinth. It dates from 1922 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The image presents a solitary male figure in profile, his head turned slightly toward the viewer, dressed in a high‑collared shirt and bow tie.
Created in 1922, Thomas Corinth is a drypoint print executed in black ink on wove paper. The image presents a solitary male figure in profile, his head turned slightly toward the viewer, dressed in a high‑collared shirt and bow tie. The work bears the artist’s signature in the lower corner and exemplifies Corinth’s mature period, when his printmaking merged precise line work with a freer, more expressive hand.
Subject & Meaning
The composition focuses on a single, unidentified man rendered in a sketch‑like manner. The profile pose and modest attire suggest a portrait or character study rather than a narrative scene. The minimal detail and open, unfinished quality invite viewers to consider the figure’s presence through suggestion, emphasizing the act of seeing rather than telling a specific story.
Technique & Style
Corinth employed the drypoint method, incising lines directly into the paper’s surface and printing them with black ink. The resulting marks are loose, rapid, and lack tonal shading, relying solely on line to define form. This approach reflects the artist’s post‑stroke shift toward looser, more vibrant compositions, blending the controlled precision of his earlier naturalism with the emotive vigor of impressionist and expressionist tendencies.
History & Provenance
Lovis Corinth, a German painter and printmaker trained in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secession before eventually leading the group. After suffering a stroke in 1911, his style transformed, culminating in works like Thomas Corinth. The print remains a representative example of his later output; its provenance traces back to the artist’s studio, though further ownership details are not recorded in the available sources.
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.
