Die Füchsin Ermelyn Mit Ihren Kindern Im Fuchsbau Malepartus 1920

Lovis Corinth made this print called 'Die Füchsin Ermelyn Mit Ihren Kindern Im Fuchsbau Malepartus', using lithography, which is a fancy way of saying he drew with grease on a stone. You can see how the marks are really loose and free, almost like a sketch. It’s as though he’s feeling his way around the forms, not trying to be too precise. The colors are muted, kind of earthy, with these quick strokes of red and blue. It’s interesting how he uses these simple colors to create this sense of depth and movement. Check out the mama fox, the way she's kind of melting into the shadows, all dark and smudgy, while the little cubs are more brightly colored, scampering about in the foreground. There is something raw and immediate about the way Corinth has handled the medium. This reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker. She had this earthy, grounded quality in her work, this real sense of the body, of lived experience. Both artists are interested in the way paint can capture something real, something messy, about life. For me, it is a very visceral image.