Tiroler Landschaft mit Brücke

About this artwork

Den Sommer 1913 verbringt die Familie Corinth in Sankt Ulrich im Grödner Tal im heutigen Südtirol. Prägend für diese Region ist die eindrucksvolle Bergwelt der Dolomiten. Doch zeigt der Maler davon nur einen markant abfallenden Felsen im Hintergrund. Er konzentriert sich auf den sonnenbeschienenen lehmigen Wanderweg vorn im Bild. Dieser Bereich fällt durch den offenen, wild gesetzten Pinselstrich auf. Folgt man dem Pfad über eine kleine, massiv gebaute Holzbrücke in den Wald, lädt in Sichtweite ...

Art Historical Context

In the summer of 1913, German artist Lovis Corinth and his family vacationed int Ulrich im Grödner Tal, a valley in what is now South Tyrol, Italy. Surrounded by the dramatic Dolomites, Corinth captured this serene landscape in *Tiroler Landschaft mit Brücke an oil on canvas measuring 95.5 x 120.5 cm. Rather than dominating the scene with peaks—visible only as a steep rock in the background—he invites viewers into a sun-drenched clay path winding through the foreground, leading over a sturdy wooden bridge toward a shady forest and an inviting red bench. Corinth's dynamic, loose brushwork animates the sunlit path, contrasting with the denser foliage and evoking the gentle sounds of trickling water and rustling leaves. This "Empfindungsmalerei"—his term for painting driven by raw sensation and emotion—marks his late style, blending Impressionist light effects with Expressionist vigor. The interplay of light and shadow creates a vivid sense of place, transporting us to a moment of quiet respite amid nature's rhythms. Housed in Vienna's Belvedere Collection, this work exemplifies Corinth's mastery in translating personal experience into universal tranquility, offering museum visitors a window into early 20th-century European plein-air traditions.

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...