Portrait of M.H. (Bildnis M.H.)
1920
Medium
lithograph
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.17.305
Art Historical Context
Erich Heckel’s *Portrait of M.H. (Bildnis M.H.)*, created in 1920, the raw emotional intensity characteristic of German Expressionism. As a founding member of the revolutionary Die Brücke group, Heckel pioneered a style that rejected academic traditions in favor of bold colors, distorted forms, and psychological depth. This lithograph, produced in the turbulent aftermath of World War I during Germany’s Weimar Republic, reflects the era’s social upheaval and personal introspection, portraying the enigmatic M.H. with stark lines and a haunting gaze. The medium of lithography was pivotal for Hec...
About the Artist
Erich Heckel
Erich Heckel (1883–1970) was born in Döbeln, Saxony, the son of a railway engineer. He attended the Realgymnasium in Chemnitz and went on to study architecture in Dresden, where he encountered the fellow students who would become his closest artistic collaborators. In 1905, together with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl, Heckel co-founded Die Brücke — The Bridge — an E...