Lot Essay
Hans Röthel categorised Corinth's work in four distinctive styles, namely Tone Painting, Pleinairism, Impressionism and Expressionism. Teich im Walde perfectly illustrates Corinth's control of the first of these four styles. In manner and handling it owes as much to Manet, Renoir and Courbet as it does to Leibl, Trübner and Slevogt.
It was not until Corinth moved to Berlin in 1900 that his own brand of impressionism was allowed to blossom. Discussing this period, Röthel writes: "In the spring of 1900 Corinth moved to the German capital, which was to become the scene of his triumph and his fame. Exaggerated conservatism and a spirit hostile to change had driven Leibl, Trübner, Slevogt and now Corinth from Munich. For a time Berlin became the hub of the empire. Now came Corinth's greatest epoch. Along with Liebermann and Slevogt he became one of the leaders of German Impressionism."
One of a series of plein air paintings executed in 1904, Teich im Walde was painted during Corinth's summer visit to Wittlage in dem Mark. It shows an extraordinary control of paint texture, perspective and a curiously broad array of tones in a very restricted range of colours. Other notable works executed during this visit are Corinth's fine portrait of his wife entitled Im Liegestuhl (R. 285) and a very comparable landscape entitled Waldweg (R. 291). The present painting was chosen to represent Corinth's impressionist landscapes in the major retrospective held the year after his death at the Nationalgalerie, Berlin in 1926.
It was not until Corinth moved to Berlin in 1900 that his own brand of impressionism was allowed to blossom. Discussing this period, Röthel writes: "In the spring of 1900 Corinth moved to the German capital, which was to become the scene of his triumph and his fame. Exaggerated conservatism and a spirit hostile to change had driven Leibl, Trübner, Slevogt and now Corinth from Munich. For a time Berlin became the hub of the empire. Now came Corinth's greatest epoch. Along with Liebermann and Slevogt he became one of the leaders of German Impressionism."
One of a series of plein air paintings executed in 1904, Teich im Walde was painted during Corinth's summer visit to Wittlage in dem Mark. It shows an extraordinary control of paint texture, perspective and a curiously broad array of tones in a very restricted range of colours. Other notable works executed during this visit are Corinth's fine portrait of his wife entitled Im Liegestuhl (R. 285) and a very comparable landscape entitled Waldweg (R. 291). The present painting was chosen to represent Corinth's impressionist landscapes in the major retrospective held the year after his death at the Nationalgalerie, Berlin in 1926.