Lovis Corinth – The Prints

26 November 2022 to 28 May 2023

The Kunsthalle was showing a selection of Lovis Corinth’s (1858–1925) most outstanding prints from its collection.

In both his printmaking and painting, Corinth used classical genres such as landscapes and portraiture to explore mythological and biblical motifs. He also created several print sequences based on literary works. The works that depict his family have an important place in Corinth’s work. Like only a handful of artists, he did extensive paintings and an entire series of prints that illustrated his marital and family life in detail.

His famous sketchbook from his Paris period (1884 - 87) shows his beginnings as an academically trained artist of the late 19th century. Gradually, he turned to impressionistic aesthetics with which he captured the fleeting moment itself. Corinth’s development can be understood particularly well in his print works. He favoured drypoint etching, which suited his powerful, sometimes almost brutal technique. The resulting works are expressive and were created using a working method that was completely new at the time. The exhibition used highly accomplished prints from this phase to show why Corinth is regarded as a bridge between tradition and modernity.