Garden in the West End of Berlin 1925

Lovis Corinth made this painting, *Garden in the West End of Berlin*, with oil on canvas, using these really juicy, thick marks. It looks like the painting was built up from a lot of dabs, almost like he’s sculpting with the paint. The texture is so important here. Look at the way the light catches on those impasto strokes, especially in the foliage. You can almost feel the weight of the paint, the way it's been applied so liberally to the canvas. There's a sense of immediacy, like he was trying to capture a fleeting moment. All those greens and browns create such a dense and palpable atmosphere. If you follow the path into the distance you'll see it's broken up by the shifting light. This reminds me a bit of some of Courbet's landscapes, especially in the way he uses that thick paint to build up form. Corinth is not trying to trick you into thinking this is real, it's a painted reality, and I love that.