Bahnhof Tiergarten (Court with Trees) 1920 - 1921

Lovis Corinth made this etching, Bahnhof Tiergarten (Court with Trees), using stark black lines on a square plate, and you can really see the marks. It looks like he was outside, maybe even standing there, trying to capture the bones of the place. I can imagine him squinting in the sun as he worked. It must have been about trying to grab something that would soon change - the light, the shadows, the leaves. Everything in the frame, the buildings and the trees, are sketched roughly in the same dark ink. I wonder if he was thinking about other artists who’d tried to capture a moment in time? What was he hoping to convey? It’s a fleeting snapshot, a feeling, a state of mind, an invitation to see and feel the world from his unique perspective. Artists are always building on what others have done, responding, reacting, and pushing the conversation forward.