Still Life with Chrysanthemums and Amaryllis

He had only just been appointed president of the Berlin Secession when, at the height of his career, he suffered a serious blow: At the age of fifty-three Corinth was struck down by a stroke. During his convalescence, his wife Charlotte filled their apartment with fresh flowers to inspire Corinth to paint again. And floral motifs appear in Corinth’s art thereafter. He transformed his canvases into riotous pageants of color. Painted close up and still easily identifiable are the glass vessels and a basket of apples at the base of the picture. Toward the middle, color takes over, first in the bouquet and then in the chrysanthemums, their feathery blooms dabbed onto the canvas in veritable explosi...