Nude Bending Forward 1916

Lovis Corinth made this drawing using charcoal or conte crayon on paper, probably in his studio. I can almost see him circling the model, rapidly making marks that capture the way light falls on her body as she leans forward, the weight of her pose. I wonder if he was thinking about earlier figure painters like Rembrandt or Rubens. Corinth's from a different time but seems to be building on that fleshy figuration. Look at the confidence of the lines, how they thicken and thin to describe form and shadow. I bet he was working fast, really trying to nail down what he saw in front of him without getting too fussy. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, then diving back in to add a few more lines, adjusting the balance. You can see the traces of erasure, near the belly, where Corinth shifted the figure. It reminds me that paintings are made with decisions, errors, and adjustments, each building on the last.