ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER | Tänzerin in einem Sessel (Dancer in an Armchair)

Estate of the Artist
Sale: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 1954, lot 1129
Private Collection, Germany & Venezuela (purchased at the above sale)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Munich, Kunsthandlung Gauss; Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich; Cologne, Galerie Ferdinand Möller (& travelling), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1954, no. 90, illustrated in the catalogue
Caracas, Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Expressionismo en Alemania, 1959, no. 35, illustrated in the catalogue
Frankfurt am Main, Kunstverein & Hamburg, Kunstverein, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1969-70, no. 87, illustrated in the catalogue
Bielefeld, Kunsthalle, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner aus Privatbesitz, 1969, no. 30, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Galerie Günther Franke, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Privatsammlung, 1970, no. 19, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, Pinakothek der Moderne, Farbenmensch Kirchner, 2014, no. 33, illustrated in colour in the catalogue 

Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Die Künstler-gemeinschaft Brücke, Feldafing, 1956, illustrated p. 201

This work is in overall good condition. The pigments are bright and fresh. Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down. The sheet is attached to the backing board at two places along the verso of the upper edge. There are some remnants of old framer's tape visible on the verso of all four edges. The sheet is lightly time-stained and there are some minor studio stains in places, notably in the lower left corner and at the centre of the upper edge. There are some minor handling marks and faint flattened creases along the edges particularly towards the lower left and upper and lower right corners.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed circa 1908, during the highly formative years of Die Brücke, Tänzerin in einem Sessel is an extraordinary testament to a crucial shift in Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s stylistic development. Free-flowing, rhythmic strokes of vividly coloured crayons express the spirit and sensuality of Kirchner’s sitter, a dancer who is seated with her skirt in artful disarray. The composition is reflective of the German Expressionists’ fervent commitment to stimulating and energetic imagery characterised by chromatic intensity, textured surfaces and simplified, sinuous forms.

A primary source of inspiration for the present work, the cabarets and variety shows in Dresden and Berlin were frequent haunts of the artist. Kirchner gravitated to the raw vitality and sexualised energy the dancers generated, and he became a master at recording the colourful costumes and rapid motions he witnessed while seated in the audience. The strong, Fauve-like use of colour, flattening of the picture plane and distortion of perspective in the present work, are all elements that reflect his interest in moving away from literal representation of reality towards a more avant-garde pictorial concept.

This work is listed in the Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Archives, Wichtrach/Bern.