The Violinist

Lovis Corinth's 'The Violinist' (1900) depicts a musician at his instrument — the portrait of the performer in the act of playing was among the most prestigious of musician portrait subjects, the violin as the most expressive of solo instruments giving the subject particular resonance. Corinth's engagement with music and musicians reflected his broader Berlin social world and his friendships within the German cultural elite. His vigorous, immediate handling gave the performance subject a quality of physical and emotional directness that differed markedly from the more restrained conventions of the academic musician portrait.

Corinth renders the violinist with the dynamic, confident brushwork that was his most immediate characteristic — the figure's posture of performance and the physical engagement with the instrument conveyed through energetic paint handling that matched the dynamic quality of the musical act. His handling of the violin's specific form and the particular way in which a violinist holds the instrument demonstrates his close observational engagement. The figure's expression and the quality of the performance moment create the subject's emotional content.