Sale: 342 / Modern Art / Sideways, Dec. 03. 2008 in Munich Lot 261

 
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Tanzende im Rock


261
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Tanzende im Rock, 1920.
Coloured chalk
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 35,380 / $ 38,210

(incl. surcharge)

Tanzende im Rock. 1920.
Coloured chalk.
Signed lower right. Dated and inscribed twice "Tänzerin" on the reverse. Further with the estate stamp of the Kunstmuseum Basel (Lugt 1570b) and the handwritten registry number "FS Da/Be 1". On light brownish wove paper. 66,7 : 49,3 cm (26,2 : 19,4 in), the full sheet. Men and women doing dance movements are a major theme in Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s drawings. Even though his first thought was merely to capture the pose of a woman dancer and to consolidate a drawing of elongated corporeality with quite elegant handling of line, Kirchner would later be particularly interested in the movements executed by his figures, which he tried to visualise. In our drawing the focus is on the female nude, which dominates the picture and is clearly outlined. The accentuation with red chalk suggests how important the figure of this dancer was to Kirchner, even though she is seen in a spatial context that is merely hinted at. All this is put down on paper with a spontaneous handling of line, the gestural expressiveness of which should be viewed as the quintessence of concentrated creative powers. [KD]

PROVENIENZ: Private collection South Germany.

Verso: Stehender und sitzender weiblicher Akt. Charcoal drawing
Sheet all in all slightly discoloured, partially minimally not fresh. Upper edge unevenly torn. Lower right corner with tiny paper loss. Isolated crease marks in the margins. Remains of an old paper mount on the reverse.




261
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Tanzende im Rock, 1920.
Coloured chalk
Estimate:
€ 15,000 / $ 16,200
Sold:
€ 35,380 / $ 38,210

(incl. surcharge)