Reclining Nude
Medium
woodcut printed in black
Dimensions
image: 9.5 x 13 cm (3 3/4 x 5 1/8 in.) sheet: 11.2 x 19 cm (4 7/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Accession Number
2012.92.675
Art Historical Context
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's *Reclining Nude* (1905) captures the raw energy of early German Expressionism. Created in the very year Kirchner co-founded Die Brücke (The Bridge) group in Dresden, this intimate woodcut reflects the movement's rebellion against academic traditions. Drawing inspiration from African and Oceanic art, Kirchner and his peers sought to express inner emotions through bold, simplified forms and vivid contrasts, often distorting the human figure to convey psychological depth. Printed in stark black ink on a modest sheet (11.2 x 19 cm), the woodcut medium is key to its power. ...
About the Artist
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1880–1938
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born on May 6, 1880, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, to parents Ernst and Maria Kirchner, part of a family of Prussian descent that frequently relocated due to his father's career as a chemical technician. After early schooling in various towns, he studied architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Dresden from 1901 to 1905, taking courses i...