Lovis Corinth

Albert Wuttke, Klein-Niendorf, Mecklenburg (commissioned from the artist)
Dr. Fritz Rothmann, London (by 1963)
Herbert Singes, Germany
Inherited from the above in 1998

Basel, Kusthalle, Lovis Corinth 1858 - 1925, 1958, no. 69
Wolfsburg, Stadthalle, Lovis Corinth, Gedächtnisausstellung: zur Feier des hundertsten Geburtsjahres; Hanover, Kunstverein, 1958, no. 52
Kassel, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Lovis Corinth: Sammlung Dr. Fritz Rothmann, London, 1963, no. 12

Charlotte Berend-Corinth, updated by Beatrice Hernad and with an introduction by Hans-Jürgen Imiela, Lovis Corinth, Die Gemälde, Munich, 1992, p. 143. no. 589, p. 637, illustrated

The canvas has not been lined. There is a faint horizontal stretcher mark visible along the upper edge and one very small spot of paint flaking in the background in the centre of the left edge. Ultra-violet light reveals one small spot of retouching in the tree-trunk in the upper left corner possibly addressing some paint flaking. This painting is otherwise in good original condition and ready to hang. Presented in a black and gilt frame.
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This work exemplifies Corinth's work from his early mature period, painted with a bravura palette and free brushstrokes. In December 1911 he had suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralysed on his left side, and his hands with a chronic tremor. Nevertheless, with the help of his wife Charlotte, within a year he was painting again with his right hand (fig. 1). His disability inspired in the artist an intense interest in the simple, intimate things of daily life, including portraits, landscapes and still lifes.  

From 1912-14, Corinth and Charlotte took to travelling widely to allow Lovis to convalesce, spending time in the Tyrol, Mentone, and Beaulieu, but also closer to home at the Klein-Niendorf estate in Mecklenburg. Here, Corinth painted some thirty-four oils, summer and winter landscapes, as well as portraits of local people, including this portrait of Albert Wuttke, a close friend of the estate's owner, Carl Glantz.  

Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secession group, later succeeding Max Liebermann as the group's president. His early work was naturalistic in approach, and Corinth was initially antagonistic towards the expressionist movement; however, increasingly, his work started to take on precisely these qualities. His use of colour became more vibrant, and he created portraits and landscapes of extraordinary vitality and power.