Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Untitled ((Zwei Mädchen auf dem Sofa) 1909 Pen and ink and coloured chalks on yellow paper (postcard without address and postmark). 10.1 x 13.8 cm. Framed under glass. Black estate stamp "Nr. ... aus dem Nachlass von Fräulein Lise Gujer, Davos-Sertig 13.3.1967" verso and numbered therein by hand "220". - In very good condition with fresh colours. Provenance Galerie Pels-Leusden, Berlin, acquired there in 1992; private collection, Saxon-Anhalt The extraordinary importance of artists’ postcards has repeatedly been emphasised in recent years. In addition to their exceptional art historical significance and numerous exhibitions on this type of work, the specific characteristics of this distinctive artistic medium have also begun to fascinate an ever-expanding group of collectors. At the latest, it was the expressionists who made the artist’s postcard into a fully valid element of their work; in doing so, they not only ennobled an important medium of communication but also used the diverse compositions of their postcards to convey concrete impressions from their studios or their frequent travels. In this context the limited format has to be seen less as a constraint than as a stimulus to concentrate on the technical and artistic means available to them. Unlike the artist’s postcards of contemporaries like Max Pechstein or Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s postcards – particularly those displaying such a delicate quality – are only rarely offered on the market. This virtuoso ink drawing of two women resting casually on a sofa features masterful accents added in blue and red, and it strikingly demonstrates the young Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s standing as a draughtsman.