At the Zoo 1920

Lovis Corinth made this etching called 'At the Zoo,' and I can almost feel him there, smelling the animal smells. He's got his plate, his acid, and all the lines he’s scratching! There’s a bridge, trees, and water rendered through scratchy lines that are not too dissimilar to a pencil sketch. I can imagine Corinth in his studio, pulling one print after the next. The trees in the background have a nervous energy, a scribbly quality. What was he feeling? Anxious? Manic? Or was that just the weather? It almost looks like a drypoint, because some of the lines are a little burred. I imagine Corinth looking at Daumier, who also made prints of the city and the poor. I wonder if Lovis thought about Goya, who made aquatints that were similarly dark. Anyway, it's all a big conversation, and we’re all invited to participate.