Seated girl. Franzi Fehrmann. German Expressionism. Figure shown nearly full length, filling almost all of the picture space, seated on vivid blue divan dressed in bright red dress with yellow trim and black polka dots on green sleeves. Small nude figure at left a frequent motif in Kirchner's art. Strong color utilized, applied in broad areas with an eye to contrast and balance. Harsh contour lines add a decorative element to the composition. These strong contour lines reveal the influence of the woodcutting technique which Kirchner also practiced to great effect. Composition is simplified and economy of line and form reveal influence of Japanese art and primitive African sculpture. No signature - checked 8-21-96.

Seated Girl (Fränzi Fehrmann), 1910 (altered 1920)

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Oil on canvasexpand_more

The John R. Van Derlip Fundexpand_more  52.12

On View in Gallery 371expand_more

In the early decades of twentieth-century Germany, a group of avant-garde artists known as Die Brücke (The Bridge, 1905-13), emerged. Hoping their work would serve as a bridge to the art of the future, they developed a radical new style of painting called Expressionism. This composition, with its deliberate brushstrokes and forceful use of outline, articulates both Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's and Die Brücke's intent to reveal raw emotion without apologies.

Lina Franziska "Franzi" Fehrmann (1900-1950), the adolescent model for Seated Girl, met Kirchner in 1910. She and her siblings regularly posed for artists in the Die Brücke group.

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Kirchner, Seated Girl (Franzi Fehrmann) (#463)
Details
Title
Seated Girl (Fränzi Fehrmann)
Artist Life
1880–1938
Role
Artist
Accession Number
52.12
Catalogue Raisonne
Gordon, 123.
Curator Approved

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Seated girl. Franzi Fehrmann. German Expressionism. Figure shown nearly full length, filling almost all of the picture space, seated on vivid blue divan dressed in bright red dress with yellow trim and black polka dots on green sleeves. Small nude figure at left a frequent motif in Kirchner's art. Strong color utilized, applied in broad areas with an eye to contrast and balance. Harsh contour lines add a decorative element to the composition. These strong contour lines reveal the influence of the woodcutting technique which Kirchner also practiced to great effect. Composition is simplified and economy of line and form reveal influence of Japanese art and primitive African sculpture. No signature - checked 8-21-96.