Boy with Dog 1915

Lovis Corinth made this etching, Boy with Dog, with ink and metal; it’s all about mark-making. He’s used a pretty simple palette, basically monochromatic, using line, and hatching to build up tone and form. It’s a little bit like watching someone think on paper. Look at how the lines around the boy's face and hat are so immediate, yet the lines that describe the dog’s fur are more delicate. They convey a sense of texture and softness. The contrast between the darker background and the lighter foreground really pulls you in, doesn't it? It’s like the boy and his dog are emerging from a shadow, or from Corinth's own memory. Corinth was part of the German Expressionist movement, and you can see that raw emotion in the urgency of his lines. It’s similar to work by Kathe Kollwitz, but maybe Corinth is a bit more sentimental. Both artists use printmaking to explore themes of everyday life and emotion. Ultimately, art is an invitation to see the world in new ways, and there’s never just one right answer.