ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER

(1880-1938)

Tänzerin

Footnotes

This work is registered in the Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Archive, Wichtrach/Bern. This work will be included in the forthcoming Ernst Ludwig Kirchner catalogue raisonné of works on paper, currently being prepared.

Provenance
Lise Gujer Collection, Davos, no. 260 (probably acquired directly from the artist).
Elke Dröscher Collection, Hamburg.
Private collection, Basel; their sale, Auktionshaus Zofingen, Zofingen, 2 December 2017, lot 2091.
Anon. sale, Germann Auktionshaus, Zurich, 4 June 2019, lot 307.
Gilden's Arts, London.
Private collection, Milan (acquired from the above in 2020).


The present work formed part of the personal collection of Lise Gujer, a Swiss-French painter and textile maker. Kirchner and Gujer met in Davos in 1921, thence forming a close personal dynamic which led to a fascinating series of artistic collaborations. The two artists completed over 30 vibrant fabric and wool compositions based on Kirchner's paintings, including Life (1922), which currently adorns the permanent collection of the Städel Museum, Frankfurt. As an homage to his creative compatriot, Kirchner completed a captivating double portrait of himself with Gujer, circa 1931. In it, the personal and artistic harmony between the two artists is embodied in their shared facial patterns of teal, pink and beige, punctuated by the bright red accents of their attires. One can discern Gujer's particular fondness for Kirchner's sketches of dancers, as a beautiful selection of such works remained in her personal collection until after her passing in 1967.