Portrait Charlotte Berend in a white Dress

Portrait Charlotte Berend in a White Dress, painted in 1902, depicts the woman who became Lovis Corinth's wife the following year. Charlotte Berend was herself a painter and a student of Corinth's, and their relationship — teacher and student turned life partners — produced a remarkable body of portraiture. Corinth's portraits of Charlotte from this period are among his finest works: technically assured, psychologically penetrating, and charged with the energy of a man deeply engaged with his subject. The Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin holds this early portrait as an important document of their relationship.

Corinth handles the white dress with bravura — thick impasto strokes building fabric texture and light simultaneously. The palette contrasts the brightness of the dress with warmer flesh tones and a darker, loosely painted background. Brushwork is vigorous and confident throughout.