647 - Lovis Corinth (1858 Tapiau, East Prussia – Zandvoort 1925)

Lovis Corinth (1858 Tapiau, East Prussia – Zandvoort 1925) The Abduction of the Women – Study (The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus) Oil on solid painting board, laminated onto painting board and mounted on a stretcher. (1904). Approx. 71 x 87.5 cm. Signed upper right. On the reverse of the stretcher, numbered by another hand. Berend-Corinth/Herard 302. • The work is entirely influenced by Peter Paul Rubens • Created during Corinth’s time in Berlin • Corinth later also explored the motif of the abduction of women in prints throughout his extensive body of work Corinth explored the theme of the abduction of a woman during his time in Berlin. He drew inspiration from Peter Paul Rubens, whose version he admired at the Alte Pinakothek during his years in Munich; the painting had entered the museum’s collection in 1805/06 via Mannheim. Lovis Corinth’s preliminary sketch for “The Abduction of a Woman” (Berend-Corinth 303) is not yet as detailed as the larger oil painting that the artist created in the same year for the Berlin-Schöneberg municipal administration, which is now considered lost. In the Schöneberg version, the rider on the horse is depicted as the sculptor Nikolaus Friedrich (1865–1914), a friend of Corinth’s whom he portrayed twice. In the large final version of *The Abduction of the Women*, Corinth focuses solely on a naked woman at the center of the scene, who is being dragged onto the horse by the two soldiers in armor. In this earlier sketch, both daughters of Leukippos, the king of Messenia, are still visible. Corinth later removed the two figures on the left from the composition and instead emphasized the horse even more. Charlotte Berend-Corinth shares a charming anecdote about the horse: “For a long time, Corinth could not find a horse for this painting that matched his inner vision. One day he saw the piebald horse in front of a large transport wagon, noted down the owner’s name, reached an agreement with him, and, to his great delight, now had the model for his painting.” (WVZ p. 99). Bibliography: Heilbronner, P., Lovis Corinth, A.B.C.-Rivista d’Arte, Turin, September 1936, ill.; Weltkunst, 1974/24, p. 2197, color ill.; FAZ Feuilleton, Frankfurt/Main, Aug. 31, 1999, p. 49, b/w ill. Exhibition: Lovis Corinth, Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal 1999, cat. no. 18, color ill. p. 67; Lovis Corinth, Fundación Juan March, Madrid 1999, cat. no. 14, color ill. p. 55, label on the back of the frame; Lovis Corinth. The Victor, Museum Schäfer, Schweinfurt 2004, p. 120, no illustration; Max Liebermann and Members of the Berlin Secession. Paintings and Sculptures from the Wolfgang Schuller Collection, Museum Schlösschen im Hofgarten, Wertheim 2010, color ill. p. 25; Philipp Franck and the Berlin Secession from Max Liebermann to Lesser Ury, Museum Kronberger Malerkolonie, Kronberg im Taunus 2013/14. Provenance: A. von Dulong Collection, Berlin; Hugo Helbing Gallery, Mrs. von Dulong Collection, Munich, Oct. 21, 1912, Lot 9, b/w ill., Plate 2; Rudolph Lepke, Berlin, April 21, 1914, Lot 92, b/w ill., Plate 4 (“The Rape of the Sabine Women”); Albert Walter von Heymel Collection, Berlin, until 1917; Paul Cassirer/Hugo Helbing, Estate of A. W. von Heymel, Berlin, March 8, 1917, Lot 17, b/w ill.; Mrs. Toni Lessing, Berlin, from 1917; A. Tietz Collection, Cologne, until 1933; Lempertz, Cologne, November 23, 1933, Lot 39, no illustration; Dr. Conrad Doebbeke (1889–1954), Berlin; Gerd Rosen Gallery, Berlin, April 1961; Lempertz, Cologne, December 1, 1961, Lot 95, b/w ill., Plate 37; Galerie am Hauptmarkt, Nuremberg; Private collection, Baden-Württemberg, acquired from the aforementioned gallery in 1975. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).