Untitled

Corinth employed lithography to achieve fluid, expressive lines and varied tonal gradations. The figures are rendered with loose, urgent strokes, while the background is softened through subtle washes. The interplay of dense shadows and faint highlights enhances spatial depth and emotional weight, reflecting his training in both academic draftsmanship and emerging expressive techniques.

This work dates from Corinth’s formative years as a printmaker, shortly after his move to Berlin. It was likely produced during a period of intense experimentation with graphic media. The print entered MoMA’s collection through documented acquisitions in the mid-20th century, aligning with the museum’s early focus on modern European prints.

In the mid-1890s, Corinth was transitioning from academic realism toward a more visceral, psychological style. Lithography offered him a medium to explore raw emotion without the constraints of oil painting. Contemporary German art circles were increasingly drawn to subjects of human vulnerability, and Corinth’s work resonated within this shift toward emotional authenticity in printmaking.

Though less known than his paintings, this lithograph exemplifies Corinth’s contribution to the revival of expressive printmaking in late 19th-century Germany. Its raw composition influenced later artists seeking to convey psychological states through graphic media, helping to bridge 19th-century realism and early 20th-century expressionism.