Nude Girl on a Rug 1912

Lovis Corinth made 'Nude Girl on a Rug' with oil paint sometime during his career. It's all about how the brushstrokes build up the form, like layers of thought. Check out the way Corinth uses color here, how the creamy yellows and pinks of the skin almost blend into the rug beneath her, a sea of ochre and brown, punctuated by reds. It's not just about depicting a nude; it's about how painting itself can be fleshy, tactile. See how he models the form by building up the paint, and how there is a sense of weight and volume but also a sense of flatness. It reminds me a little of Manet, but with a much looser approach. These paintings are never really finished, but caught in this beautiful state of becoming.