Sunday, October 29, 2023

The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy

 

National Gallery of Art, Washington

February 11–May 27, 2024

The National Gallery of Art has important holdings of prints and drawings by German expressionists Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Emil Nolde, among others. The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy presents insights into the work of these inventive early 20th-century artists and their continuing impact a century later. The exhibition features recent acquisitions as well as works that have rarely, if ever, been on view, including gifts donated by celebrated Washington, DC, collectors Jacob and Ruth Cole Kainen. In addition to Heckel, Kirchner, and Nolde, the expressionists on view in more than 70 prints, drawings, illustrated books, and portfolios include key figures Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz, Egon Schiele, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, as well as lesser-known artists such as Walter Grammatté.

Through their bold distortions, angular, simplified forms, and use of non-naturalistic colors, the German expressionists sought to convey the complex emotional and psychological responses to their changing world during the social, cultural, and political upheavals in the early decades of the 20th century. Following the recent World War I centenary, new reflections on the historical period 1900–1920 add depth to our understanding of these artists and their artistic heirs. Post-1950 and contemporary artists shown at the conclusion of the exhibition—Leonard Baskin, Nicole Eisenman, Orit Hofshi, Rashid Johnson, Matthias Mansen, and others—demonstrate the ways in which artists have carried forward the German expressionists’ rich legacy. The exhibition invites us to consider how the intensity of the human experience in transformational moments in history effectively captured in the work of the German expressionists strongly resonate with us and the cultural and political shifts taking place in our own world today.

The exhibition is curated by Shelley Langdale, curator and head of modern prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Walter Gramatté
Die grosse Angst (Selbstportrat, Kopf im Halbprofil nach rechts), 1918
drypoint with extensive additions in watercolor
sheet: 30 x 23.81 cm (11 13/16 x 9 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Christopher and Beverly With in memory of Karl and Gerda With


Images




Max Beckmann
The Street, 1916

drypoint
sheet: 34.7 x 44.4 cm (13 11/16 x 17 1/2 in.) [irregular]
plate: 19.5 x 29.5 cm (7 11/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Self-Portrait in the Studio (Selbstbildnis im Atelier), 1923

crayon on white board
sheet: 49.8 x 33.9 cm (19 5/8 x 13 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Otto Dix
Dance of Death Anno 17 (Totenanz anno 17), 1924

etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burnishing in black on laid paper
plate: 23.9 x 29.5 cm (9 7/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
sheet: 35 x 47.4 cm (13 3/4 x 18 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Jacob Kainen



Otto Dix
Dead Men before the Position near Tahure (Tote vor der Stellung bei Tahure), 1924

etching and aquatint
plate: 19 x 25.6 cm (7 1/2 x 10 1/16 in.)
sheet: 34.8 x 47.3 cm (13 11/16 x 18 5/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Print Purchase Fund (Rosenwald Collection)



Otto Dix
Young Family (Loving Couple) [Junge Familie (Liebespaar)], 1918

pen and brush and black ink on brown wove paper
overall: 39.9 x 39.5 cm (15 11/16 x 15 9/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Richard A. Simms and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund



Emil Nolde
Hamburg, Freihafen, 1910

etching
plate: 30.4 x 40.5 cm (11 15/16 x 15 15/16 in.)
sheet: 48.7 x 60.9 cm (19 3/16 x 24 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kainen in memory of Lessing J. Rosenwald



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Men Splashing in the Reeds (Sich Spritzende Männer im Schilf), 1910

lithograph printed in black on yellow wove paper
plate: 27.9 x 37.7 cm (11 x 14 13/16 in.)
sheet: 31 x 43 cm (12 3/16 x 16 15/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen 



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Two Bathers at Fehmarnküste (Zwei Badende am hoher Fehmarnküste), 1912

black ink on wove paper
sheet: 58.1 x 45.9 cm (22 7/8 x 18 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Two Nudes on a Bed (Isabella and a Younger Girl) (Zwei Frauen im Raum), c. 1906

brush and india ink on buff paper
sheet: 30.8 x 31.12 cm (12 1/8 x 12 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ruth and Jacob Kainen Memorial Acquisition Fund


Max Beckmann
Self-Portrait with Naila as Circus Performers Holding Masks and Reclining on a Sea Monster, c. 1923

woodcut block with additions in crayon and ink
overall: 50 x 39.3 cm (19 11/16 x 15 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann




Käthe Kollwitz
In God's Hands, 1935/1936

bronze
overall: 35.5 x 31.8 x 8.6 cm (14 x 12 1/2 x 3 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hans W. Weigert in memory of Lili B. Weigert



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Women Bathing Between White Stones (Badende Frauen Zwischen Weissen Steinen), 1912

color woodcut printed in black, green, orange and red
image: 28.4 x 27.6 cm (11 3/16 x 10 7/8 in.)
sheet: 40.4 x 31.7 cm (15 7/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

Miriam Beerman
Untitled (bloody head), c. 1969–1975

oil on thin posterboard mounted to cream Fabriano paper
sheet: 66 x 51.1 cm (26 x 20 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of William B. Jaffe



Miriam Beerman
Untitled (face), c. 1970–1975

ink on thin posterboard
sheet: 72.4 x 57.1 cm (28 1/2 x 22 1/2 in.)
Collection of William B. Jaffe (promised gift to the National Gallery of Art, Washington)











Erich Heckel
Man in Prayer (Mannerbildnis), 1919

hand-colored woodcut
image: 46.1 x 32.5 cm (18 1/8 x 12 13/16 in.)
sheet: 61.9 x 46 cm (24 3/8 x 18 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection



Käthe Kollwitz
Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis von vorn), 1923

woodcut
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection



Käthe Kollwitz
Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis), 1924

woodcut
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection

 



George Grosz
The Convict (Der Zuchthäusler), 1919

lithograph in black
image: 46.2 x 34.29 cm (18 3/16 x 13 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection




Max Beckmann
Self-Portrait, 1918

drypoint in black
plate: 30.3 x 25.5 cm (11 15/16 x 10 1/16 in.)
sheet: 51.8 x 38 cm (20 3/8 x 14 15/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann



Lovis Corinth
Tod bei Strucks (Death Visits the Strucks), 1921 (published 1922)

softground etching in black on wove paper
plate: 24 x 17.8 cm (9 7/16 x 7 in.)
sheet: 30 x 23.7 cm (11 13/16 x 9 5/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift in memory of Sigbert H. Marcy and in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art



Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Fanny Wocke, 1916

woodcut in black on blotting paper
image: 30.5 x 40 cm (12 x 15 3/4 in.)
sheet: 42.2 x 56.8 cm (16 5/8 x 22 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ruth and Jacob Kainen Collection, Gift in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art


Egon Schiele
Sorrow (Kümmernis), 1914

drypoint printed in dark green on laid paper
plate: 47.5 x 31.6 cm (18 11/16 x 12 7/16 in.)
sheet: 70.6 x 51 cm (27 13/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainene


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Dr. Ludwig Binswanger (Kopf Dr. Ludwig Binswanger), 1917/1918

woodcut on wove paper
sheet: 59 x 41 cm (23 1/4 x 16 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Nelson Blitz, Jr., and Catherine Woodard in honor of Perri and Allison Blitz


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Street Scene After the Rain (Strassenszene, Nach dem Regen), 1914

woodcut printed in black
image: 26.5 x 24.7 cm (10 7/16 x 9 3/4 in.)
sheet: 44.7 x 35 cm (17 5/8 x 13 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Head Study (Kopfstudie), 1926

lithograph printed in black
image: 32.9 x 27.3 cm (12 15/16 x 10 3/4 in.)
sheet: 40.8 x 33.5 cm (16 1/16 x 13 3/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


George Grosz
Attack (Attentat), 1915

lithograph in black on laid paper
image: 19.05 x 24.45 cm (7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 24.13 x 31.75 cm (9 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the gift of Richard A. Simms and Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 


Käthe Kollwitz
Self-Portrait, Drawing, 1933

black chalk on brown laid Ingres paper
overall: 47.7 x 63.5 cm (18 3/4 x 25 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Käthe Kollwitz
Self-Portrait with Hand on Forehead (Selbstbildnis mit der Hand an der Stirn), 1910

etching and engraving in black-brown on wove paper
plate: 15.5 x 13.6 cm (6 1/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
sheet: 43.3 x 30.2 cm (17 1/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection



Emil Nolde
Woman in Profile (Frau im Profil), 1910

woodcut
image: 15 13/16 x 11 5/16 in. (40.2 x 28.7 cm)
sheet: 19 7/16 x 14 in (49.3 x 35.5 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection 


Max Beckmann
Group Portrait, Eden Bar (Gruppenbildnis Edenbar), 1923

woodcut on heavy Japan paper
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Old Market in Dresden with Annual Fair (Der Altmarkt in Dresden mit Jahrmarkt), 1910

lithograph printed in black
image: 32.6 x 38.5 cm (12 13/16 x 15 3/16 in.)
sheet: 42.7 x 51.3 cm (16 13/16 x 20 3/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen



Christian Rohlfs
Flood (Sintflut), c. 1918

color woodcut in black and brown on heavy wove grey-green paper
sheet: 68.7 x 51.4 cm (27 1/16 x 20 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Otto Mueller
Finding of Moses (Auffindung des Moses), c. 1920

lithograph in black and gold
image: 27.94 x 38.74 cm (11 x 15 1/4 in.)
sheet: 43.97 x 53.34 cm (17 5/16 x 21 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Otto Mueller
Standing Boy and Two Girls 2 (Three Acts) (Stehender Knabe und zwei Mädchen 2) (Drei Akte), 1917

lithograph
sheet: 49.85 x 39.37 cm (19 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.)
image: 32.39 x 24.77 cm (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Max Oppenheimer
Pietà, 1912

drypoint
image: 16.99 x 15.24 cm (6 11/16 x 6 in.)
sheet: 35.72 x 25.56 cm (14 1/16 x 10 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund


Emil Nolde
Fish Steamboat (Fischdampfer), 1910

woodcut
image: 30.32 x 38.58 cm (11 15/16 x 15 3/16 in.)
sheet: 39.69 x 48.58 cm (15 5/8 x 19 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Epstein Family Fund

 


Lovis Corinth
Christ Bearing the Cross (Kreuztragung), 1916

drypoint in black on wove paper
plate: 23.6 x 34 cm (9 5/16 x 13 3/8 in.)
sheet: 35.7 x 50.4 cm (14 1/16 x 19 13/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Marcy Family in memory of Sigbert H. Marcy


Georg Erhlich
Pietà, 1923

etching in black on wove paper
plate: 13 9/16 x 9 13/16 in. (34.5 x 25 cm)
sheet: 50.7 x 34.8 cm (19 15/16 x 13 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Lovis Corinth
The Fall of Man (Der südenfall), 1919

color woodcut monotype
sheet: 30.5 x 23.5 cm (12 x 9 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund


Erich Heckel
Brother and Sister (Geschwister), 1913

woodcut
image: 42.2 x 30.7 cm (16 5/8 x 12 1/16 in.)
sheet: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Otto Mueller
Two Bathers, c. 1920

color crayons and watercolor
overall: 68.7 x 52.8 cm (27 1/16 x 20 13/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Max Pechstein
Princess (Prinzessin), 1918

woodcut on gray-brown wove paper
image: 35.7 x 23.5 cm (14 1/16 x 9 1/4 in.)
sheet: 61 x 48.5 cm (24 x 19 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection


Max Pechstein
Head of a Woman, 1920

graphite with black wash
overall: 41.9 x 32.1 cm (16 1/2 x 12 5/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection



Max Pechstein
Nude, 1909

watercolor on brown paper
overall: 33.8 x 43.9 cm (13 5/16 x 17 5/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection



Erich Heckel
Crouching Woman (Hockende), 1913 (published 1921)

woodcut
image: 41.8 x 30.9 cm (16 7/16 x 12 3/16 in.)
sheet: 69.6 x 54.3 cm (27 3/8 x 21 3/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Dancing Couple (Tanzpaar), 1909

lithograph on yellow wove paper
sheet: 44.6 x 36.8 cm (17 9/16 x 14 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ruth and Jacob Kainen Collection

File name: 5647-141.jpg
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Two Women (Zwei Frauen), 1914

color lithograph printed in black and orange
image: 42 x 32 cm (16 9/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
sheet: 53.8 x 41.9 cm (21 3/16 x 16 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

 


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
The Married Couple Müller (Ehepaar Müller), 1919

woodcut printed in black on rose paper
image: 35 x 42.5 cm (13 3/4 x 16 3/4 in.)
sheet: 43.3 x 55.3 cm (17 1/16 x 21 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Nude Woman on a Carpet (Nacktes Mädchen auf Teppich), 1924

woodcut on yellow wove paper
sheet: 60 x 35.9 cm (23 5/8 x 14 1/8 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

 



Egon Schiele
Standing Nude with a Patterned Robe, 1917

gouache and black crayon on buff paper
sheet: 29.3 x 45.9 cm (11 9/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Robert and Mary M. Looker Family Collection


Emil Nolde
Dancer (Tänzerin), 1913

5-color lithograph on japan paper
sheet: 60.2 x 77.5 cm (23 11/16 x 30 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Boy with Cat (Knabe mit Katze), 1919

lithograph on yellow wove paper
sheet: 64.1 x 53.5 cm (25 1/4 x 21 1/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen


Erich Heckel
Portrait of a Woman (Frauenkopf), 1922

lithograph in black on japan paper
plate: 26.8 x 21.5 cm (10 9/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
sheet: 39 x 29.2 cm (15 3/8 x 11 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Jacob Kainen