Lovis Corinth

Ludwig & Estella Katzenellenbogen, Berlin (commissioned from the artist for Festsaal at their country estate in Freienhagen)
Estella Katzenellenbogen, Berlin and Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (acquired from the above through donation in 1964, and sold, Sotheby’s, London, June 3, 2009, lot 28, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

Berlin, Berliner Sezession, 1916, no. 53
Berlin, Berliner Sezession, 1918, no. 88 
Berlin, Nationalgalerie, Lovis Corinth, 1926, no. 239 (lent by Dr. Ludwig Katzenellenbogen, Freienhagen)
Bremen, Kunsthalle Bremen, Lovis Corinth, 1958, no. 35 (lent by Alexander Gebhardt, as agent for the owner) 
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (until 2009) 

Georg Biermann, Lovis Corinth, Bielefeld, 1913, no. 155 
Richard Hamann and Jost Herman, Naturalis Epochen deutscher Kultur von 1870 bis zur Gegenwart, Munich, 1972, p. 349 
Charlotte Berend-Corinth, Die Gemälde von Lovis Corinth, Munich, 1958, p. 127, no. 567, illustrated p. 595 
Charlotte Berend-Corinth, Lovis Corinth: Die Gemälde, Munich, 1992, p. 140, no. 567, illustrated p. 625 (with incorrect provenance) 

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This large vigorous work is in very good condition. The canvas has been lined. The painting is clean. It does not appear to be varnished, but it looks well and modern as a result. The paint layer is in beautiful condition. There are no visible damages or restorations. Some of the cracking is very slightly raised, but this is acceptable given the scale of the work. The work should be hung in its current state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Lovis Corinth benefitted from a broad artistic training at the avant-garde Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and then moved to Paris to study at the Académie Julien and under William Bouguereau (see lots 17, 18 and 50). This, combined with his rebellious sensibility, makes his idiosyncratic artistic style that bridges Impressionism and Expressionism difficult to classify. 

The present work is one of a cycle in eleven parts painted over 1913 and 1914, commissioned by the industrial magnate Ludwig Katzenellenbogen and his first wife Estella for their villa in Freienhagen, north of Berlin – the series has been divided and six works are now in the collection of the Berlinische Galerie. The Katzenellenbogens were noted patrons of the arts and worked closely with the legendary dealer, Paul Cassirer, to build an impressive collection of avant-garde art.  In addition to being Corinth’s dealer, Cassirer played an important role in promoting Impressionist and post-Impressionist painting, notably the work of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cezanne, and exerted a strong influence towards an embrace of modernism within monarchist Germany. Cassirer was a central figure in organizing the Berlin Secession and acted as its business manager since its foundation, and when he left in 1912, he was succeeded in his role of president by Corinth.

The Katzenellenbogen’s original commission called for a series of landscapes, but Corinth shocked his clients by choosing to illustrate themes from Homer’s Odyssey and Orlando Furioso, by the Renaissance writer, Ariosto. This audacious response is amplified by his treatment of his subject, for although his source of inspiration comes from these grand narratives of European literature, his characters do not explicitly radiate sublime greatness. Instead, his paintings are filled with contemporary models in historical costumes, embracing an ironic and somewhat humorous approach and a further testament to the artist’s unbridled creativity (figs 1, 2 and 3). In the present work, his larger than life maenad is deep in drink, as suggested by her relaxed pose, her body draped over the ivy colored stand. She holds a glass from the artist’s own collection, which he reserved for special occasions (according to the artist’s wife, Charlotte Berend-Corinth).

In his exploration of themes of love, death and sexuality, Corinth revisited the theme of the Bacchanal throughout his career.  The present work is one of many to adopt this potent subject, including Bacchanale (1896, Städtisches Museum, Gelsenkirchen), Bacchants Returning Home (1898, Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal) and Ariadne on Naxos (1913, Kunstsalon Franke, Munich), among many others.