Selbstbildnis im Strohhut (Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat)

Art Historical Context

Lovis Corinth's *Selbstbildnis im Strohhut (Self-Port in a Straw Hat)*, created in 1913, captures the artist in a moment of introspective confidence. This intimate drypoint print, measuring 23.6 x 17.7 cm on the plate, showcases Corinth at age 55, gazing directly at the viewer beneath a casual straw hat. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, it exemplifies the German master's late-career exploration of self-representation through printmaking. Drypoint, a technique where Corinth scratched directly into a copper plate with a steel needle, produces richly textured lines thanks to the burr—a soft, velvety fuzz that holds ink for dramatic depth and immediacy. Unlike etching's precise lines, drypoint's organic quality suited Corinth's evolving style, blending Impressionist looseness with Expressionist intensity. By 1913, following a stroke two years prior, his work grew bolder and more autobiographical, with over 100 self-portraits chronicling his physical and emotional life. This print not only highlights Corinth's technical virtuosity but also his cultural role as a bridge between 19th-century naturalism and modernist expression in German art. Visitors will appreciate its raw honesty, inviting us to ponder the artist's unyielding gaze amid personal trials.

About the Artist

Lovis Corinth · 1858–1925

Lovis Corinth, born Franz Heinrich Louis on July 21, 1858, in Tapiau, East Prussia (now Gvardeysk, Russia), to a tanner father, displayed prodigious drawing talent from childhood. He began formal training at the Königsberg Academy in 1876, then moved to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1880 to 1884, studying under Ludwig von Löfftz and briefly Franz von Defregger, where he absorbed a Realis...