Ernst Ludwig Kirchner at Galerie St. Etienne

The Galerie St. Etienne on West 57th Street has long been one of New York City's foremost venues for the viewing of modern German art; its present exhibit of work by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner represents a rare opportunity to view drawings, watercolors and graphic works by one of the most prominent Expressionists, a co-founder of the artists' group Die Brücke.

There are roughly fifty works on view at the exhibit, most of them drawn from the collection of Robert Lehman.  They cover the period from 1906 at the very inception of Die Brücke through the mid-1920's when Kirchner had already relocated to Switzerland.  They thus provide a comprehensive overview of the development of the artist's singular style.

Kirchner had originally come to Dresden to study architecture at Königliche Technische Hochschule, and it was while enrolled there that he met fellow students Fritz Bleyl, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel with whom he was to found Die Brücke.  This was probably the happiest and most creative part of Kirchner's life.  Together with his associates he lived a thoroughly bohemian lifestyle.  As described on the gallery's website:

"Here naked women cavorted freely, seemingly unburdened by any residue of Christian shame. Young girls were portrayed as avatars of prelapsarian purity, titillating yet chaste. Like little Eves, they appear unaware of their nudity. The goal, in Kirchner’s words, was to depict 'free human beings in free naturalness.'"

Kirchner's favorite model during the Dresden years was Doris Große, known as "Dodo," and there are several lithographs and drawings of her on display that are notable for their total lack of artifice.  The works I found most interesting from this period, however, were those done outside the studio, such as Costumed Female Dancer (watercolor and graphite, 1910) and Gentleman with Lap Dog in Café (two-color woodcut, 1911).

In 1911, Kirchner relocated to Berlin where he and fellow Expressionist Max Pechstein opened a private art school.  He also found in Berlin a new model, Erna Schilling, who was to be his companion for the remainder of his life.  But things did not go smoothly for Kirchner in Germany's huge metropolis.  First the art school failed, and then Die Brücke dissolved amid a great deal of acrimony.  Left on his own, Kirchner managed to organize a successful solo show at the Essen Folkwang Museum but changing tastes in art left him without a major dealer to represent him in Berlin.  The worst crisis, however, came with the commencement of World War I.  Kirchner enlisted in 1915 but before having seen any action suffered a complete breakdown and entered a sanatorium for the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse.  Though he achieved some success and created a number of important artworks upon his return to Berlin, Kirchner had had enough and in 1917 emigrated to Switzerland.  He remained there until 1938 when he committed suicide.

Though there are any number of interesting works shown at the current exhibit, for me the high points are the woodcuts, a medium in which Kirchner excelled and in which - in my opinion at least - he created his most distinctive works.   There are three masterpieces on display: Frau Professor Goldstein (Kohnstamm Sanatorium), 1916; Couple (Lovers), 1921; and Portrait of a Man and a Woman (Mr. and Mrs. Schiefler), 1923.  It was worth the trip to 57th Street just to see these.

The exhibit continues through July 1, 2016.