Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
1880 - 1938
Russisches Tänzerpaar. 1909.
Lithograph in colors in four colors (black, blue, rose red, and yellow).
Signed and inscribed "Handdruck". One of ten known copies. On wove paper. 33.5 x 39.4 cm (13.1 x 15.5 in). Sheet: 34,4 x 45,1 cm (13,5 x 17,7 in).
Twice stamped “Unverkäuflich E. L. Kirchner” (not for resale) on the reverse
According to Günther Gercken’s catalogue raisonné (Vol. II, 1909–1911), the individual primary colors appear in various shades.
• A milestone of Expressionism: one of the most significant graphic works from the Dresden “Brücke” period.
• Movement, energy, vitality: Kirchner interprets dance as “intensified life” with colorful, expressive intensity.
• Virtuoso hand-printing technique using the same stone in four steps, giving each sheet a unique character.
• The work shows prima ballerina Olga Preobrazhenskaya and ballet master Georges Kiakscht of the St. Petersburg Court Theater, whom Kirchner observed during a rehearsal in Dresden in 1909.
• Other copies of this small edition of only ten known lithographs are held in major collections, including the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Günther Gercken for his kind expert advice.
PROVENANCE: Presumably from the artist’s estate.
Christian Laely, Davos (removed from the aforementioned estate in 1946 and assigned to the fictional “Gervais Collection”; inscribed with the number “K FL 12” on the reverse).
Private collection, Berlin (acquired in 1987, Christie’s, London).
Acquired from the above by the current owner.
EXHIBITION: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1880–1938, Nationalgalerie Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Nov. 29, 1979–Jan. 20, 1980; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Feb. 9–Apr. 13, 1980; Museum Ludwig at the Kunsthalle Cologne, April 29–June 8, 1980; Kunsthaus Zurich, June 20–August 10, 1980, cat. no. 52 (with color illustration on p. 127, different copy).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Von Jena nach Davos. An exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Jena Art Association, Stadtmuseum Göhre in Jena, Oct. 10, 1993–Jan. 16, 1994, cat. no. 60 (with color illustration on p. 173, different copy).
Es gibt nur ein Programm: Freiheit! Kirchner, Nolde, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Amiet, and Hodler: Marking the 100th Anniversary of Botho Graef’s Death, Jena Municipal Museums, September 3–November 19, 2017, cat. no. 45 (with color illustration on p. 58, different copy).
Kirchners Kosmos: Der Tanz, KirchnerHAUS Aschaffenburg, September 21–December 30, 2018, cat. no. 3 (with color illustration on pp. 17 and 71, different copy).
LITERATURE: Günther Gercken, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Critical Catalog of Prints, vol. II (1909–1911), Bern 2013, CR no. 378 (with color illustration on p. 393, different copy).
Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, E. L. Kirchner. Das graphische Werk, vol. I, Munich 1967, CR no. L 130.
Gustav Schiefler, Die Graphik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, vol. 1 (through 1916), Berlin-Charlottenburg 1926, CR no. 89.
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Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Nachzeichnung seines Lebens, catalog of the collection of works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner at the Kirchner House in Davos, Bern 1979, no. 188 (with color illustration on p. 29, different copy).
Bernd Hünlich, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, “Russisches Tanzpaar” und seine Entstehung, in: Dresdener Kunstblätter, 1983, Vol. 83, No. 1, (with b&w illustration, different copy).
Christie’s, Manson & Woods, London, Important Modern and Contemporary Prints: The Collection of Peter Gidal and from Various Sources, Auction 3732, Dec. 2, 1987, lot 498 (with color illustration).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1930, quoted from: Bemerkungen über Leben und Arbeit, in: Das Werk. Schweizer Monatsschrift für Architektur, freie Kunst, angewandte Kunst, vol. 17, no. 1, Zurich, January 1930, p. 3
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
1880 - 1938
Russisches Tänzerpaar. 1909.
Lithograph in colors in four colors (black, blue, rose red, and yellow).
Signed and inscribed "Handdruck". One of ten known copies. On wove paper. 33.5 x 39.4 cm (13.1 x 15.5 in). Sheet: 34,4 x 45,1 cm (13,5 x 17,7 in).
Twice stamped “Unverkäuflich E. L. Kirchner” (not for resale) on the reverse
According to Günther Gercken’s catalogue raisonné (Vol. II, 1909–1911), the individual primary colors appear in various shades.
• A milestone of Expressionism: one of the most significant graphic works from the Dresden “Brücke” period.
• Movement, energy, vitality: Kirchner interprets dance as “intensified life” with colorful, expressive intensity.
• Virtuoso hand-printing technique using the same stone in four steps, giving each sheet a unique character.
• The work shows prima ballerina Olga Preobrazhenskaya and ballet master Georges Kiakscht of the St. Petersburg Court Theater, whom Kirchner observed during a rehearsal in Dresden in 1909.
• Other copies of this small edition of only ten known lithographs are held in major collections, including the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Günther Gercken for his kind expert advice.
PROVENANCE: Presumably from the artist’s estate.
Christian Laely, Davos (removed from the aforementioned estate in 1946 and assigned to the fictional “Gervais Collection”; inscribed with the number “K FL 12” on the reverse).
Private collection, Berlin (acquired in 1987, Christie’s, London).
Acquired from the above by the current owner.
EXHIBITION: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1880–1938, Nationalgalerie Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Nov. 29, 1979–Jan. 20, 1980; Haus der Kunst, Munich, Feb. 9–Apr. 13, 1980; Museum Ludwig at the Kunsthalle Cologne, April 29–June 8, 1980; Kunsthaus Zurich, June 20–August 10, 1980, cat. no. 52 (with color illustration on p. 127, different copy).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Von Jena nach Davos. An exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Jena Art Association, Stadtmuseum Göhre in Jena, Oct. 10, 1993–Jan. 16, 1994, cat. no. 60 (with color illustration on p. 173, different copy).
Es gibt nur ein Programm: Freiheit! Kirchner, Nolde, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Amiet, and Hodler: Marking the 100th Anniversary of Botho Graef’s Death, Jena Municipal Museums, September 3–November 19, 2017, cat. no. 45 (with color illustration on p. 58, different copy).
Kirchners Kosmos: Der Tanz, KirchnerHAUS Aschaffenburg, September 21–December 30, 2018, cat. no. 3 (with color illustration on pp. 17 and 71, different copy).
LITERATURE: Günther Gercken, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Critical Catalog of Prints, vol. II (1909–1911), Bern 2013, CR no. 378 (with color illustration on p. 393, different copy).
Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, E. L. Kirchner. Das graphische Werk, vol. I, Munich 1967, CR no. L 130.
Gustav Schiefler, Die Graphik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, vol. 1 (through 1916), Berlin-Charlottenburg 1926, CR no. 89.
- -
Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Nachzeichnung seines Lebens, catalog of the collection of works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner at the Kirchner House in Davos, Bern 1979, no. 188 (with color illustration on p. 29, different copy).
Bernd Hünlich, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, “Russisches Tanzpaar” und seine Entstehung, in: Dresdener Kunstblätter, 1983, Vol. 83, No. 1, (with b&w illustration, different copy).
Christie’s, Manson & Woods, London, Important Modern and Contemporary Prints: The Collection of Peter Gidal and from Various Sources, Auction 3732, Dec. 2, 1987, lot 498 (with color illustration).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1930, quoted from: Bemerkungen über Leben und Arbeit, in: Das Werk. Schweizer Monatsschrift für Architektur, freie Kunst, angewandte Kunst, vol. 17, no. 1, Zurich, January 1930, p. 3
