Herma Körding’s "Model" (1956) pulses with the influence of Fauvism and postwar Expressionism, layering broad, rhythmic brushstrokes in vivid, contrasting hues to create both form and motion. Painted during her early Düsseldorf years, this work reveals her departure from academic restraint toward a bolder, more intuitive figuration that would define her mature portrait style. The sitter’s composed pose is offset by a restless, almost musical surface—a hallmark of Körding’s expressive realism.

Herma Körding
Herma Körding (1927–2010) was a German painter and draftsman known for her expressive portraits and structured still lifes, rooted in traditional techniques yet marked by personal vision. Trained in Karlsruhe, Paris, and Düsseldorf, she studied under artists such as Wilhelm Schnarrenberger and Jean Dupas, developing a figurative style that resisted the abstraction dominating postwar art. Körding worked primarily in oil and drawing media, focusing on quiet domestic subjects—often everyday people and natural objects—rendered with clarity, pattern, and emotional depth. In 1963, she became the first woman to win the Pfalz Prize for Painting, and in 1972 was awarded the Croix de Chevalier pour l’Art et Humanisme in Lyon. An advocate for women artists, she was the only woman on the board of Düsseldorf’s Künstlerverein Malkasten for many years and led efforts to expand exhibition opportunities for female creators. Her legacy as a dedicated figurative artist and cultural contributor in Düsseldorf continues to be celebrated through exhibitions and public honors.