Cowshed 1912

Lovis Corinth made this painting, Cowshed, with oils, pushing and pulling pigment over the canvas, probably alla prima. It’s all greens, browns, and yellows, worked up in thick, juicy strokes. I wonder what it was like to stand where Corinth stood. I imagine the smell, the sounds. Did he make this painting on the spot? Maybe he returned to his studio to work from memory and sketches. The scene is dark, the painting itself is heavy with paint. See how the impasto of the brushstrokes suggests the rough texture of the wood and hay, the bulk of the animals? Look at those quick dabs of white – are they birds or dust motes dancing in the air? You can feel the artist figuring it out as he went along. Corinth’s brush seems to capture a moment, an atmosphere, like Manet, whilst also speaking to German Expressionism and the darker sensibilities of Beckmann and Grosz. It’s a fascinating dialogue across time, as artists respond to each other and to the world. It makes you think, what can painting do?