Lake Walchensee by Moonlight

Corinth painted most of his Walchensee pictures fast and out of doors, in front of his own house at Urfeld on the lake, and some are said to have taken him only 20 or 30 minutes. A night view posed a problem, since in the dark he could barely see his palette. The Lenbachhaus explains how he solved it. He planned the composition in advance and mixed the colours before he went out, so that by moonlight he could work quickly with paint already prepared. What looks like a moment caught by chance was set up beforehand. He signed and dated the canvas at the lower left, Lovis Corinth. 1920, a year after the family began spending long stretches at the house. It is on permanent loan to the Lenbachhaus from the foundation named after the painter Gabriele Münter and her companion Johannes Eichner.