Mrs. Hedwig Berend 1923

Lovis Corinth made this drawing of Mrs. Hedwig Berend in 1923, probably using charcoal or graphite. I see so many shifting marks, coming into being, maybe through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Corinth. What must it have been like to create? What was he thinking? The materiality of drawing is front and center here – the tooth of the paper, the smudging, the pressure of the mark-making. See how the quick, hatched strokes of the charcoal or graphite build up a sense of volume and form, while also conveying a feeling of immediacy? There's a gesture in the upper left corner, the artist's signature, barely legible but full of intention. It's like he's saying, "Yes, this is me, this is how I see." Corinth was part of a bigger conversation. Artists build on each other’s ideas across time, inspiring creativity. This drawing feels like a really embodied form of expression. It’s open to interpretation, and so can shift in meaning.