Female Nude 1916

Lovis Corinth made this etching, Female Nude, with subtle inky marks, creating soft greyish-brown tones on the bright surface. Imagine him bending over the plate, coaxing out the image from the metal, wiping it back, and starting again! I feel like he was looking hard at the model, following the lines of her body with the needle like a kind of caress. It's not a romantic view, more like a study. The way he's hatched those lines, especially around her head and shoulders, gives her a vulnerable presence. It reminds me of other nudes by artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker, who were also grappling with representing the body in new ways. Artists are always looking at each other, across time, riffing on each other’s ideas. It’s like a big, ongoing conversation. I love that painting embraces uncertainty, because it means there's always room for new voices and interpretations.