Bravo to the Musée d’Orsay for once again bringing to our attention an artist whose work has been unjustly eclipsed over time (another recent discovery was the work of Ferdinand Hodler): Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), a German artist who studied in Munich, Antwerp and Paris in the late 19th century and joined the Berlin Secession movement in the first decade of the 20th century.

As the exhibition’s subtitle, “Between Impressionism and Expressionism,” indicates, Corinth had a wide range of styles. In his early years, he showed his talent in Rembrandt-influenced academic painting, but Corinth – who painted everything from biblical, literary and historical scenes to portraits and landscapes – had a provocative side that characterizes the best paintings shown here.

While politically incorrect by today’s standards, his paintings of a fully dressed man (himself) holding a naked woman (like “Self-portrait with Nude Seen from the Back,” pictured above), sometimes possessively gripping her breast, are hauntingly powerful. So are some of his nudes, such as “Nudity” (1908), in which the sensual, almost brutal handling of the flesh tones instantly calls to mind the paintings of Lucian Freud, whose “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” just brought in $33.64 million at auction, a world record for a living artist.

And who wouldn’t think of Chaim Soutine’s studies of sides of beef, painted much later, when looking at Corinth’s expressionistic 1905 depiction of an ox carcass hanging in a slaughterhouse? This unflinching portrayal is echoed in “The Great Martyr” (1907), in which Christ’s emaciated, contorted body hangs like so much dead meat from the cross while his torturers enthusiastically nail his feet to it. And Corinth’s talent for character portrayal comes through in “Descent from the Cross,” painted a year earlier: the indifference shown by the guards contrasts with the sorrow of the women and the gentleness of a man who holds the dead Christ’s head up with his hand under his chin.

Like all good artists, Corinth liked to experiment and study the same subject matter (his own reflection was one of his favorite subjects, and the show includes many self-portraits) over and over from different angles. Not all his work is as successful as those mentioned above, however. His “Bacchants” (1908), for example, looks dated and kitschy to modern eyes.

Corinth’s works on paper, around 30 of which are included here, are impressive, notably a self-portrait, “Samson Blinded” (1913) in pencil, which is far more powerful and affecting than a painting on the same subject made the year before.

Heidi Ellison

Musée d’Orsay: 1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris. Métro: Solferino. RER: Musée d’Orsay. Tel.: 01 40 49 48 14. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., until 9:45 p.m. on Thursday (except May 22). Admission: €8. To June 22. www.musee-orsay.fr

© 2008 Paris Update

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