Doppelbildnis mit Skelett [Double-Portrait with Skeleton]

This influential representative of German Impressionism turned to a more Expressionist style after a stroke in 1911. Corinth’s close encounter with death affected him deeply, and his art betrayed an increasing awareness of fragility and transience. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 intensified his preoccupation with death. As a prime example of Corinth’s fixation, the subject of this print derives from traditional themes of vanitas from art history. It portrays the artist and his friend, Dr. Schwarz, soberly staring toward the viewer while a human skeleton and an animal skull hang in the background. Dr. Schwarz, trained in medicine, was one of Corinth’s greatest patrons and friends. He went on to write the fundamental catalogue of Corinth’s graphic art.