Portrait of Gertrud Mainzer with Lucie

Portrait of Gertrud Mainzer with Lucie (1901) is a double portrait depicting a woman alongside a figure named Lucie—possibly a daughter, younger relative, or close friend. Double portraits of women, particularly related female pairs, had a rich tradition in European painting, but Corinth brings his characteristic informal directness to the format rather than the ceremonial gravity it often carried. This work reflects his interest in the psychological relationship between sitters and his ability to make multi-figure compositions feel coherent rather than merely assembled. The pairing of the two figures would have communicated an understood social bond to contemporary viewers even without identifying the relationship explicitly.

The composition balances two sitters in a convincing spatial relationship, placing them in close proximity to suggest intimacy. Corinth's brushwork adapts to each face with characteristic sensitivity, differentiating the two personalities while maintaining painterly consistency across the canvas. Warm flesh tones are played against a neutral ground to unify the double composition.