Self-portrait without a collar

Self-Portrait without a Collar (1900), at the Märkisches Museum Berlin, shows Corinth at the threshold of his major Berlin period in a state of informal undress. The missing collar that marked bourgeois respectability is a deliberate statement of self-presentation: the artist as worker and physical being rather than social functionary. This gesture connects to a long tradition of artists' self-portraits in working guise, from Rembrandt to Courbet, that assert creative autonomy over social convention. The portrait marks the moment Corinth was remaking himself as a Berlin artist, and its informality mirrors that act of artistic reinvention—an implicit declaration that he would operate on his own terms.

The absence of the collar focuses attention on the face and exposed neck, which Corinth renders with unflinching directness. His paint handling is characteristic—vigorous, directional strokes that build form through tonal contrast rather than smooth blending. The self-portrait gaze is direct and challenging, establishing the confrontational quality that marks his best self-examinations.