Reclining Female Nude – I 1912

Lovis Corinth made this drawing, Reclining Female Nude – I, without a specific date, and it's all about the touch of the pen to paper, isn't it? The feeling of line. Here we see this figure sprawled out, caught in a moment of repose. Look at the way Corinth uses these quick, almost scribbled lines to define the form. It’s not about perfection or realism, but more about capturing a sense of volume and weight. The cross-hatching around the torso and the shading on the face, it's like he's feeling his way around the body with the pen. The quick lines create a sense of movement, like the figure is breathing, alive on the page. Corinth reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, in the way that both artists use line to convey raw emotion. But where Kollwitz is all about angst and social commentary, Corinth seems more interested in the sheer pleasure of looking, the sensuality of form. And maybe that’s what art’s all about, that endless conversation between feeling and seeing.