Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Badende in den Dünen (Fehmarn) Circa 1912 Pencil drawing on chamois-coloured drawing paper. 39 x 46 cm. Framed under glass. Signed 'ELKirchner' (joined) lower left. - Estate inscription 'B Be/Bf 12' verso lower left in ink. - Minimal traces of creasing; brownish stain in lower margin (possibly original). This work is documented in the Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Archive, Wichtrach/Bern. Provenance From the artist's estate; Rhenish private collection (1986); Lempertz Cologne, Auction 943, 28.5.2009, lot 100; private collection, Rhineland “In Fehmarn I learned to give form to the unity of humanity and nature”, wrote Kirchner in one of his drafts for a biography (cited in: Karlheinz Gabler, E.L. Kirchner: Zeichnungen, Pastelle, Aquarelle, exhib. cat. Aschaffenburg 1980, p. 124). In “Genius” (1920), written under his pseudonym Louis de Marsalle, he later formulated some fundamental points regarding his drawing: “If you wish to clearly understand Kirchner's particular manner of representation, his forms and his composition, it is best to take a look at his drawings [...] If you have absorbed them the way that one reads a cherished letter or a treasured book, you will imperceptibly develop a feeling for the key to this hieroglyphic script. Kirchner draws like other people write.” (cited in: Lucius Grisebach, Kirchners “Hieroglyphe”, in: exhib. cat. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Aquarelle und Zeichnungen, Die Sammlung Karlheinz Gabler, Munich 1999, p. 32). The fine sheet here shows Kirchner's graphic art indubitably at its peak.