Lovis Corinth (1838-1925) was a leading German artist of the late 19th-early 20th century with a prodigeous output of work.

Lovis Corinth was born in 1838 in the town of Tapiau in East Prussia (now the Soviet Union), the son of a tanner. He was named Louis, but came to be called Lovis because he later signed his name with a Latin-style "u" which is written as a "v". Corinth grew up in a rural setting, with little or no exposure to works of art. From a very early age, however, he enjoyed sketching and painting. At the age of nine he was enrolled first in the public school in nearby Konigsberg and then at the Konigsberg Academy of Art.

Corinth continued his artistic training in Munich (1880-1882), and then in Antwerp and Paris (1884-1886), where he studied with the well-known academic painter Adolphe William Bouguereau. During this period...