623 - Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880, Aschaffenburg – Frauenkirch/Davos, 1938)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880, Aschaffenburg – Frauenkirch/Davos, 1938) Billiard Players (“In the Café”) Drypoint etching on sturdy, grayish copperplate paper. (1906). Approx. 13.5 x 17 cm (sheet size approx. 22 x 35.5 cm). One of only three known copies. Signed and dated “05” (difficult to read) in the lower left corner, titled and inscribed “Eigendruck” in the lower right corner. Very rare. Inscribed by another hand on both the upper and lower margins of the sheet. On the reverse, marked by another hand as “No. 11 Caféhaus Billard Kaltnadel,” “Alter Druck,” “K 9791,” “C 3769,” and “9448.” Gercken 87. Provenance: From the artist’s estate, bearing the Basel stamp (Lugt 1570b) and the designation “R 18 III” on the reverse; Private collection, Switzerland. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).