Lot 433 Dα

Kirchner moved into the farmhouse “In den Lärchen” near Davos in September 1918 and remained there until the end of 1923. It was here that Kirchner began writing about his own art under the pseudonym Louis de Marsalle. In his writing he emphasised the importance of drawing as the first record of artistic experience. The immediacy of it made it the ideal touchstone for the development of an idea.
This drawing shows a young female nude seated in a tub, depicted with virtuosity and in energetic strokes. The pointy, triangular tooth-like structures in the background which represent the décor of the curtains in Kirchner's studio are juxtaposed with the tilted up circle and the oval. The artist did not place particular value on the accurate depiction of the model's features, it was more important to him to show the vigour and charm of the nude and capture the atmosphere of the moment in an immediate form.
The Gervais Collection from which this fine sketch originates included at least 500 of Kirchner's works even during the artist's lifetime.