Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Frauenbildnis (Erna Schilling) - image-1

Lot 375 Dα

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Frauenbildnis (Erna Schilling)

Auction 1090 - overview Cologne
31.05.2017, 18:00 - Modern Art
Estimate: 18.000 € - 22.000 €
Result: 16.740 € (incl. premium)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Frauenbildnis (Erna Schilling)
1915

India ink drawing, washed, on firm drawing paper 47 x 42.1/42.9 cm Framed under glass. Signed and dated 'E.L.Kirchner 15' in pencil lower right. - The sheet minimally irregularly torn in left margin. - Overall slightly browned, minor light-stain right.

This large-format drawing from the estate of Erich Heckel features a striking profile and, according to information kindly provided by Gerd Presler, it is an image of Erna Schilling - a portrait that may reflect much of the illness and despair in the artist's life in 1915. The angular face and the shadows surrounding the large eye sockets make his companion appear older than she was. “Here Kirchner has defined his future wife in washes and repetitions in a sketch-like, 'ecstatic' diction, with his pen seeming to fly.” (Gerd Presler).

Certificate

We would like to thank Gerd Presler, Weingarten, for kind information and supplementary advice.

Provenance

Estate Erich Heckel, Hemmenhofen