Red Christ 1922

Lovis Corinth made this painting, Red Christ, and what strikes me is the loaded brushstrokes that seem almost violently applied. The rawness of the paint handling really drives home the emotional intensity. There's such physicality to this piece; it's like Corinth is wrestling with the paint, trying to get it to embody something profound about suffering and sacrifice. Look at the way the light catches the impasto in Christ's torso and legs – it's almost sculptural. Then there's that single stroke of dark red right above the pelvis; it's a small detail, but it anchors the entire composition and contributes to the disturbing effect of the piece as a whole. The heavy paint and dark subject matter remind me of some of the German Expressionists. Like them, Corinth embraces ambiguity, leaving space for multiple interpretations and feelings.