Bahnhof Tiergarten (Court with Trees) 1920 - 1921

Lovis Corinth made this etching, Bahnhof Tiergarten, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. Look closely, and you’ll see he’s working with the bare minimum, a monochromatic palette, and a network of sharp, darting lines. It’s all process, a kind of frenetic energy captured on the plate. The image teeters on the edge of abstraction; the buildings and figures are barely legible, almost dissolving into the surrounding space. Notice the tree trunks, how they’re rendered with these quick, almost violent strokes. It’s as if Corinth is wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down before it disappears altogether. There’s something about this raw, unfinished quality that I find incredibly compelling. It reminds me of the work of someone like Emil Nolde, another German Expressionist who wasn’t afraid to let his emotions run wild on the canvas. Art, at its best, is a conversation, a constant back-and-forth between artists across time.