GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This intriguing image at first seems to show a strange assembly of nude figures, three women and one man, painted in a raw and expressive style. On closer inspection, one realizes that the figures are small wooden sculptures clustered on the scalloped base of a mirror. The sculptures, directly carved in wood and partially painted, were made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner himself. Two of the sculptures—the male figure to the left and standing female figure at right—survive, but the others are only known from this painting. Four Wooden Sculptures is a significant example of Kirchner’s work from the period when he belonged to the Brücke (Bridge), an artistic collective founded in Dresden in 1905. The Brücke artists shared an interest in so-called “primitive” arts, particularly Oceanic and African sculpture. The reverse of the canvas is painted with a separate composition, Ice Skater, made in Davos, Switzerland, during the winter of 1929–30.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 241.
NOTES
Created 1912/1929-1930
Checked Piction
This painting at first seems to show a strange assembly of nude figures, three women and one man, painted in a raw and expressive style. On closer inspection one realizes that the figures are in fact small wooden sculptures clustered on the scalloped base of an elaborate 19th-century standing mirror. The sculptures, directly carved in wood and partially painted, were made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner himself. "Four Wooden Sculptures," with its marked interest in primitivist forms and crude brushwork, is a significant example of Kirchner’s work during the Brücke period. The Brücke was an artistic collective founded in Dresden in 1905. The Brücke artists shared an interest in so called “primitive” arts, particularly Oceanic and African sculpture.
The reverse of "Four Wooden Sculptures" is painted with an entirely separate composition, made during the winter of 1929–30, showing an ice skater sweeping across a frozen lake in the Alps.
Excerpt from
Current public notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Davos (inhabited place/Switzerland): TGN: 7007342
Process/materials
Historical periods
1912/1929-1930
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
Collections smARTphone tour; Dr. Heather MacDonald discusses Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken) (recto)/ Ice Skater (Schlittschuhläufer) (verso) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (DMA Collection 2010.16.A-B.McD)
12936966: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
Collections smARTphone video; Art History and guest lectuerer discusses the relationship between painting and sculpture in Kirchner's work; Related to Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken) (recto)/ Ice Skater (Schlittschuhläufer) (verso) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (DMA Collection 2010.16.A-B.McD)
12936950: UMO
44997702: UMO Learn about Kirchner
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Learn more about the life and work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner from MOMA.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 2010.16.A-B.McD
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General Description
This intriguing image at first seems to show a strange assembly of nude figures, three women and one man, painted in a raw and expressive style. On closer inspection, one realizes that the figures are small wooden sculptures clustered on the scalloped base of a mirror. The sculptures, directly carved in wood and partially painted, were made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner himself. Two of the sculptures—the male figure to the left and standing female figure at right—survive, but the others are only known from this painting. Four Wooden Sculptures is a significant example of Kirchner’s work from the period when he belonged to the Brücke (Bridge), an artistic collective founded in Dresden in 1905. The Brücke artists shared an interest in so-called “primitive” arts, particularly Oceanic and African sculpture. The reverse of the canvas is painted with a separate composition, Ice Skater, made in Davos, Switzerland, during the winter of 1929–30.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 241.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Learn more about the life and work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner from MOMA.
Notes
Created 1912/1929-1930
Checked Piction
This painting at first seems to show a strange assembly of nude figures, three women and one man, painted in a raw and expressive style. On closer inspection one realizes that the figures are in fact small wooden sculptures clustered on the scalloped base of an elaborate 19th-century standing mirror. The sculptures, directly carved in wood and partially painted, were made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner himself. "Four Wooden Sculptures," with its marked interest in primitivist forms and crude brushwork, is a significant example of Kirchner’s work during the Brücke period. The Brücke was an artistic collective founded in Dresden in 1905. The Brücke artists shared an interest in so called “primitive” arts, particularly Oceanic and African sculpture.
The reverse of "Four Wooden Sculptures" is painted with an entirely separate composition, made during the winter of 1929–30, showing an ice skater sweeping across a frozen lake in the Alps.
Excerpt from
Current public notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Davos (inhabited place/Switzerland): TGN: 7007342
Process/materials
Historical periods
1912/1929-1930
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
Collections smARTphone tour; Dr. Heather MacDonald discusses Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken) (recto)/ Ice Skater (Schlittschuhläufer) (verso) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (DMA Collection 2010.16.A-B.McD)
12936966: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
Collections smARTphone video; Art History and guest lectuerer discusses the relationship between painting and sculpture in Kirchner's work; Related to Four Wooden Sculptures (Vier Holzplastiken) (recto)/ Ice Skater (Schlittschuhläufer) (verso) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (DMA Collection 2010.16.A-B.McD)
12936950: UMO
44997702: UMO Learn about Kirchner
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