Lovis Corinth (1858 – 1925) was a German artist who trained in Paris and in Königsberg, Munich for 11 years. After his training he decided to settle in Berlin in 1901. Corinth started producing art here and soon became a most important figure of the Berlin Secession. This was a society of exhibiting artists who favored the German style of Impressionism. Corinth also gained representation from Cassirer Paul’s gallery. His long, highly successful and prolific career extends from the academic tradition of the late 19th century to German Expressionism and Impressionism. He considered the Expressionists as people who were being influenced by foreign strains like “primitive” art and French Fauvism, and he criticized them for this. After suffering a stroke in 1911 his naturalistic style changed to an anxiously communicative handling of favored subjects such as self-portraits, literary and historical themes, and nudes, the former of which contemplated increasingly on own mortality.
In the course of his work, Corinth made only 11 woodcuts but he produced a total of 1,200 prints, including many in illustrated books and portfolios. In 1890s, he first used printmaking as a means of improving his draftsmanship, but later he made most of his prints towards the end of his career when it became a more marketable medium during the post-war economic crisis. He favored the fuzzy, but rich lines of dry point and also favored lithography. Corinth worked with many publishers and after 1920 he closely collaborated with Gurlitt Fritz Verlag. His art is found in many collections around the world.
