Frau Marie Moll 1905

Lovis Corinth made this portrait in 1905 with what looks like oil paint on canvas, of Frau Marie Moll. What grabs me is the way Corinth lays down these confident strokes, like he's wrestling the paint into submission but also letting it have its own voice. The colors are kind of muted, like an old photograph, but there's this intensity in how he handles the textures. Look at the way he renders her hands, they are chunky and almost clumsy but full of life, each brushstroke seems deliberate, capturing the essence of her presence. Her dress is a series of stripes, but the paint handling is so loose, they feel more like a sensation than a description. Corinth was definitely doing his own thing. It reminds me a little of Beckmann, with that same willingness to be a bit awkward and not overly precious. It’s like he's inviting us to see the world in a new way, where beauty and imperfection can coexist.