Kirchner
dal 5/10/2010 al 15/1/2011
Segnalato da
5/10/2010
Kirchner
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, founding member of the Die Brucke artists group in Dresden, Germany 1905, is among the most influential artist personalities in German classical Modernism. A trailblazer for Expressionist art, he succeeded in creating some of the most innovative formal solutions of his day - particularly as a printmaker. The exhibition features a representative overview of the most significant phases in Kirchner's creative development: the early work showing studio and street scenes of Dresden and Berlin, work created during summer stays on the Baltic Sea island Fehrmarn and the later work in Davos.
curated by Marcus Andrew Hurttig and Ulrich Luckhardt
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), founding member of the Die Brücke (The Bridge) artists group in
Dresden, Germany 1905, is among the most influential artist personalities in German classical Modern-
ism. A trailblazer for Expressionist art, he succeeded in creating some of the most innovative formal so-
lutions of his day - particularly as a printmaker.
The exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle features a
representative overview of the most significant phases in Kirchner’s creative development: the early
work showing studio and street scenes of Dresden and Berlin, work created during summer stays on
the Baltic Sea island Fehrmarn and the later work in Davos.
The exhibition itself centers primarily on
paintings from the Kunsthalle’s own collection along with selected loans, all works indisputably regarded
as the high point of Kirchner’s oeuvre as a painter. For the first time, these paintings will be shown in a
context that includes their preliminary sketches - most of them on loan from private collections - print
graphics showing similar motifs and the artist’s photographs as an integrative whole. The multi-format
presentation offers visitors a fascinating opportunity: Looking at the originals, one can follow Kirchner’s
creative process from the first fleeting idea in sketches to the final painting.
Another special feature and high point are the large-format drawings - all of them measuring 90 x 69
cm, the paper size Kirchner used for nude drawings from 1906 to1910 and 1913 in his Dresden and
Berlin studios. For the first time, 12 of the total 33 surviving drawings will be shown side-by-side -
clearly documenting Kirchner’s pivotal development as an Expressionist artist before the onset of the
First World War. A separate section shows views of Hamburg and St. Pauli nightlife, prints Kirchner pro-
duced in the course of his October 1910 visit to the city.
The comprehensive exhibition catalogue Kirchner und Hamburg features essays on Director Gustav
Pauli (Hamburger Kunsthalle) and Max Sauerlandt (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg), along
with art scholar Gustav Schiefler, some of the most important proponents of Kirchner’s art in
1920s/30s Germany. Numerous research findings highlight, among other things, the challenging mu-
seum acquisition politics surrounding Modernist art in the Hansestadt during theWeimar period.
All of
Kirchner’s pieces in the Hamburger Kunsthalle collection will be published for the first time as a notated,
fully-illustrated directory, including reconstructions of the Kunsthalle’s one-time collection, seized in
1937 as “degenerate art.”
The catalogue is available for 29 euros at museum shops and http://www.freunde-
der-kunsthalle.de.
Mira Forte
Kommunikation Hamburger Kunsthalle
Tel. +49 (0)40. 428 131 204
Fax +49 (0)40. 428 542 978
forte@hamburger-kunsthalle.de
Image: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938), Selbstbildnis mit Modell, 1910/1926, Öl auf Leinwand, 150,4 x 100 cm
© Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk
Photo: Elke Walford
Press conference: Wednesday, 6 October 2010, 11 a.m.
Opening: Wednesday, 6 October 2010, 19 p.m.
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Glockengiesserwall - Hamburg
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays closed
Admission
Children and teenager under 18 years free entrance
Exhibitions and Collections Adults € 10
Concessions € 5, for eligibility see notice at box office
Family Day Ticket € 14
Golden Friday € 8,50, For senior citizens with senior's pass, includes coffee and cake
Guided Tours € 3