Self-Portrait
Medium
brush and ink with watercolor over black crayon
Dimensions
overall: 46.8 x 37.5 cm (18 7/16 x 14 3/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Accession Number
2012.92.20
Art Historical Context
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's *Self-Portrait* (8) captures the raw emotional intensity characteristic of German Expressionism, a movement Kirchner helped pioneer as a founder of Die Brücke group in 1905. Created late in his career, this work reflects the artist's turbulent life: after serving in World War I, which shattered his health, Kirchner retreated to Switzerland in 191, grappling with mental anguish and opium addiction. By 1928, his self-portraits often conveyed a haunting introspection, using distorted forms and bold colors to externalize inner turmoil—a hallmark of Expressionist rebellion a...
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...