Saters, een nimf, een faun en een toom varkens 1923

Curator: This is "Saters, een nimf, een faun en een toom varkens," which translates to "Satyrs, a Nymph, a Faun, and a Troop of Pigs," created in 1923 by Lovis Corinth. Editor: Well, the pigs are certainly present! What a wild, frenetic sketch. It feels less like a carefully considered composition and more like a fever dream captured in ink. Curator: Corinth's work frequently engages with mythological subjects, drawing on classical imagery but infusing it with a very modern, expressionistic sensibility. Think about the traditional role of satyrs and nymphs – figures embodying primal urges and connection to nature – but visualized through a lens of psychological turmoil. Editor: Absolutely. And look at how quickly the pen moved across the page; it is gestural and raw. I’m curious about Corinth's process. Was this a preliminary study for something larger? Or perhaps an end in itself, exploring the material properties of ink and paper? The cross-hatching creates so much textural depth. Curator: Given Corinth's history with etching, the lines evoke the same spontaneous quality found on those plates, yet in a more immediate manner through pen on paper. Notice how the solidity of the satyr on the left is juxtaposed against the swirling, more amorphous embrace in the center of the piece, the bodies almost melt together, driven by lust and desire. It mirrors Corinth’s own physical decline. Editor: Good point. You really feel the push and pull of that interaction in the density of the marks, where the ink almost pools on the page. I keep coming back to those pigs, though. Are they symbols of something specific, or just present, rooting about, unaware of the mythical drama unfolding above them? Curator: They serve, in a way, as a grounding element. Pigs, traditionally associated with base instincts and earthly pleasures, provide a contrast and underscore the themes already presented. They highlight the messy, chaotic nature of desire that these mythical figures embody. Editor: Seeing Corinth wrestling with classical tropes through the lens of material experimentation…it makes me rethink these figures, away from the formal perfection we usually associate with them and into something altogether more human and vulnerable. Curator: A fitting consideration as we end our visit with Corinth’s vision. It's easy to feel you are transported into the mythical past and the artist’s modern mind at once.