Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Lovis Corinth. It dates from 1908 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Lovis Corinth’s 1908 lithograph, untitled, presents a stark black‑and‑white portrait of a woman with closed eyes, an open mouth, and disheveled hair. The image’s jagged lines and raw energy convey a moment of intense feeling, rendered in a single, swift execution on stone. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a fleeting expression of anguish or ecstasy, suggested by the closed eyes and gaping mouth. The untamed hair and abrupt strokes amplify a sense of emotional turbulence, aligning the figure with the dramatic intensity associated with the opera Elektra, for which the image originally served as a sheet‑music cover.
Technique & Style
Corinth employed a greasy crayon to draw directly onto a lithographic stone, a process that allows the artist’s hand to remain visible in the final print. The resulting marks are loose, almost scribbled, yet retain a clarity that translates the immediacy of the original drawing into a reproducible medium, showcasing the expressive potential of early 20th‑century lithography.
History & Provenance
Created in a single sitting for the 1908 publication of Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra, the lithograph later entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Its provenance traces back to its original commercial use, illustrating how a functional design for a music cover evolved into a work valued for its artistic merit within a major modern art institution.
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.
