Lot 210 Dα

In the summer of 1909 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner visited the Moritzburg ponds, outside Dresden, for the first time. With their rapidly formulated immediacy, his drawings from this period - particularly the nudes and bathing scenes - are among the artist's outstanding works. Their freedom and directness of representation embody a spontaneity that Kirchner scarcely achieved in painting.
In our image Kirchner has used limited means to establish the layering of the depicted space. Behind the figure lying in the reeds in the foreground, he draws a vivid scene with five bathers, some of whom are climbing out of the water. In doing so he also succeeds in using just a few strokes to present a stimulating contrast among the different dynamics of the depicted figures. The coloration, which he carries out in green, blue and yellow goes straight to the point. From today's perspective it seems difficult to reconstruct the specific composition of the group of bathers, who necessarily remain unidentified in the sketch-like notation of the individual figures.

For viewers, Kirchner's formulation of the person lying in the foreground is particularly intriguing. With eyes directed towards the bathers, the figure invites viewers to look over its shoulder, so to speak, thus drawing them even closer to the scene. Not least on account of this compositional detail, this already spontaneous motif defined by great naturalness achieves a unique degree of openness.