Das Gastmahl des Trimalchio: pl. II (The Banquet of Trimalchio: pl. II) 1919

Editor: We’re looking at “Das Gastmahl des Trimalchio: pl. II (The Banquet of Trimalchio: pl. II),” an etching made in 1919 by Lovis Corinth. It's an odd, scratchy kind of image, quite small and frenetic. I immediately feel like I’ve interrupted something mid-action. What’s your read on this piece? Curator: Oh, that frantic energy is *exactly* what grabs me. It's Corinth throwing us headfirst into a bacchanal, but a distinctly German Expressionist bacchanal. It feels less joyous revelry and more…desperate consumption, doesn't it? You’ve got these ghostly figures looming in the foreground, while behind them, folks are literally swinging whatever they’ve got in their hands. Ever felt that manic energy right before something glorious implodes? Editor: Absolutely. I see that tension, almost like forced fun. Why choose such a chaotic scene? Is there a message? Curator: Well, Corinth, by this point, had lived through quite a bit – a stroke that left him partially paralyzed, the horrors of World War I looming…I imagine he was channeling that era's anxieties, its hunger for *something*, anything, to distract from the abyss. Notice the plate’s title references “Trimalchio's Banquet” from the Satyricon, a decadent feast spiraling out of control... Editor: Ah, okay, I see how that historical context infuses the work with so much more depth, this isn't just a crowd scene! So the frenetic lines aren't just a style choice. Curator: Not at all. The medium *is* the message! That agitated etching perfectly captures the anxiety, the unraveling, that defined so much of post-war Europe. What do you think Corinth was really trying to 'feed' us here, through the image? Editor: That's a great question. Maybe, we should all take notice of that desperate craving, that feeling just before everything unravels, so we are less inclined to go off the rails ourselves. Curator: I like that. This piece certainly stuck with me. I shall think of it differently from now on! Thanks!