Franz Heinrich Corinth, the Artist’s Father
- Artist
- Lovis Corinth, German, 1858–1925
- Depicted
- Franz Heinrich Corinth, German, –1889
- Date
- 1888
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 47 5/8 x 39 3/4 in. (121 x 101 cm)
framed: 51 5/8 x 43 1/2 in. (131.1 x 110.5 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 736:1991
NOTES
Lovis Corinth depicts his father with a blue-eyed gaze of considerable intensity. The precision of the sitter’s face is in marked contrast to the vigorous handling of paint across the rest of the unfinished canvas. This work was painted shortly after Corinth had spent three years in Paris, and suggests his awareness of the French Impressionists. When Corinth painted this portrait his father was in ill health and would die the following year. This painting hung in Corinth’s studio for the rest of the artist’s life.
Provenance
1888 - 1925
Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), Munich, Germany; Berlin, Germany
1925 - 1967
Charlotte Berend-Corinth (1880-1967), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA, by inheritance from the artist
1967 - 1991
Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer (1909-2001), New York, NY, by inheritance [1]
1991 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer [2]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Berend-Corinth's 1992 catalogue raisonné [Berend-Corinth, Charlotte. "Lovis Corinth, Die Gemälde, Werkverzeichnis." Munich: Bruckmann Verlag, 1992 (originally published 1958), cat. no. 56]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Corinth painted only four portraits of his father, all between 1883 and 1888. According to the artist's daughter, Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer, the artist never wanted to part with this painting [letter from Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer dated December 4, 1991, SLAM document files]. A 1911 photograph of the artist's Berlin studio shows the painting hanging on the wall of the studio [photograph, SLAM document files]. See note [2].
[2] See note [1]. The painting stayed in the artist’s family for two generations. Charlotte Berend-Corinth inherited the picture from her husband, the artist, and later bequeathed it to her daughter Wilhelmine. In 1991, Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer donated the painting to the Museum. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, Year End Acquisitions, 1991.
Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), Munich, Germany; Berlin, Germany
1925 - 1967
Charlotte Berend-Corinth (1880-1967), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA, by inheritance from the artist
1967 - 1991
Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer (1909-2001), New York, NY, by inheritance [1]
1991 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer [2]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Berend-Corinth's 1992 catalogue raisonné [Berend-Corinth, Charlotte. "Lovis Corinth, Die Gemälde, Werkverzeichnis." Munich: Bruckmann Verlag, 1992 (originally published 1958), cat. no. 56]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Corinth painted only four portraits of his father, all between 1883 and 1888. According to the artist's daughter, Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer, the artist never wanted to part with this painting [letter from Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer dated December 4, 1991, SLAM document files]. A 1911 photograph of the artist's Berlin studio shows the painting hanging on the wall of the studio [photograph, SLAM document files]. See note [2].
[2] See note [1]. The painting stayed in the artist’s family for two generations. Charlotte Berend-Corinth inherited the picture from her husband, the artist, and later bequeathed it to her daughter Wilhelmine. In 1991, Wilhelmine Corinth Klopfer donated the painting to the Museum. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, Year End Acquisitions, 1991.