Seated Woman in the Studio, 1909
Ernst Ludwig Kirchnerexpand_more
Pastel, brush and black ink on paperexpand_more
Gift of funds from Mr. and Mrs. Hall James Petersonexpand_more 67.41
Not on Viewexpand_more
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a founder and the de facto leader of Die Brücke (The Bridge), one of Germany’s first and ultimately most influential associations of progressive artists. The members hungered for new artistic inspiration, which they found in works by foreigners, especially Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Henri Matisse.
When drawing Seated Woman in the Studio, Kirchner was fresh from seeing the products of Matisse’s Fauve (wild animal) period. He seems to have been feverishly eager to emulate the Frenchman’s brushstrokes of daring color, contorted and flattened figures, and patterned decorative settings. Though conservative critics found the result “half barbaric, half refined,” a more sympathetic commentator singled out Kirchner as making the greatest contribution to the expression of Brücke principles, “the wish for a picture based on nature, but only as material for a (more or less consciously) simplified and constructed synthesis.”
Details
- Title
- Seated Woman in the Studio
- Artist Life
- 1880–1938
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 67.41
- Provenance
- [Alan Auslander Gallery, New York, until 1966]; [Allan Frumkin Gallery, New York, 1966-67; sold to MIA].
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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