The LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster
Friday (26.9.) until 18.1.2026.
This is the first exhibition to explore these two singular artists and their surprising parallels in such depth.
From the vibrant life of the big city to the intimacy of the studio and the stillness of the
mountains: At the beginning of the 20th century, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Pablo Picasso
bore witness to a new era, with their works speaking of change, crisis and passion. Though
they never met in person, their pictorial worlds and styles converged. 100 works from major
European museums will highlight the similarities and contrasts between two of the most
important modernist artists.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Pablo Picasso were born just one year apart, in the German Empire
and in Spain. Their paths to art differed widely, yet both shared a passion for innovation and
continually reinvented their artistic expression. The exhibition opens with the biographies of
Kirchner and Picasso, intertwining the lives of the two artists not only with each other, but
also with the events of contemporary history. At the same time, Kirchner and Picasso are
placed within the wider context of Franco-German artistic exchange.
In their works, both artists depict people in the big city: while dancing, making music, or at
variety shows. It is about glamour, speed and ecstasy – but also about the hard life behind
the scenes, about loneliness and poverty. The exhibition tells of both – of the fascination of
the stage and of what remains hidden from the audience.
Among the most well-known works by both artists are their expressive portraits. The focus is
on the likenesses of their respective life partners. These portraits also clearly illustrate the
stylistic developments of Kirchner and Picasso. The subject of the bather, a symbol of
insouciance and joie de vivre, is also a recurring theme in both artists’ works. Whether in the
studio or in nature – the nude is a is a recurring subject in the work of both Kirchner and
Picasso. The view of naked female bodies contrasted with partially clothed men raises
questions about the relationship between painter and model. The studio itself also plays an
important role: it is more than just a workspace – here, famous works were created, here,
ideas were toyed with, life was lived, and sometimes convivial time was spent.
Finally, the exhibition sheds light on the self-staging of both artists. Kirchner in particular
regularly depicted himself in self-portraits, which offer a glimpse of his personal situation at
various points in time. His life as an artist, as well as his struggle with physical and
psychological health, are made visible in these works. Picasso, on the other hand, used the
mythological figure of the Minotaur for his self-staging and mastered the art of presenting
himself through photographic self-portraits.
IMAGES
Kirchner
1_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Alpweg nach dem
Gewitter, 1923/24, LWL-Museum für Kunst undKultur. Foto: LWL / Sabine Ahlbrand-Dornseif
2_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frau mit Kind
unter Tannen, 1936, LWL-Museum für
Kunst und Kultur. Foto: LWL / Hanna
Neander
.jpg)
3_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Kaffeetafel (Vs),
1908, Erworben mit Unterstützung des
Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, LWL-
Museum für Kunst und Kultur. Foto: LWL /
Sabine Ahlbrand-Dornseif
.jpg)
4_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Auf Fehmarn
(Rs), 1913, LWL-Museum für Kunst und
Kultur. Foto: LWL / Sabine Ahlbrand-
Dornseif
Akt von hinten, um 1905, Kirchner Museum
Davos, Schenkung Nachlass Ernst Ludwig
Kirchner 1990. Foto: Stephan Bösch
Schilling, 1913, Berlin, Neue
Nationalgalerie, Stiftung Preußischer
Kulturbesitz. Foto: bpk, Nationalgalerie,
SMB, Verein der Freunde der
Nationalgalerie, Jörg P. Anders
Frau in rotem Kleid (Bildnis Frau
Hembus), 1932, Privatsammlung.
Foto: Dominique Uldry
9_Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Junkerboden, 1938,
Kirchner Museum Davos, Dauerleihgabe
Rosemarie-Ketterer-Stiftung. Foto: Kirchner
Museum Davos
10_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Tänzerin
Palucca, 1929, Privatsammlung. Foto:
Georgios Michaloudis, farbanalyse,
Köln
11_Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Drei Badende am Meer,
1912–1920, Schweiz, Privatsammlung. Foto:
Sammlung Ulmberg
12_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Mandolinistin,
1921, Kirchner Museum Davos, Schenkung
Nachlass Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1990. Foto:
Jakob Jägli
13_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Nackte
liegende Frau, 1931, Kirchner
Museum Davos, Schenkung Nachlass
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1990. Foto:
Stephan Bösch
14_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Zwei
Frauen auf der Straße (Vs.), 1914.
Foto: bpk, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-
Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Achim Kukulies
15_ Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Sängerin am
Piano, 1930/31, Courtesy Galerie Henze &
Ketterer, Wichtrach/Bern
03.04.1949, Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster.
Foto: Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster / Hanna
Neander. © Succession Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
2025
2_Pablo Picasso, Jeanne, 1901, Musée national
Picasso-Paris. Foto: bpk, CNAC-MNAM, Béatrice
Hatala. © Succession Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
2025
1914, Musée national Picasso-Paris. Foto: bpk
/GrandPalaisRMN / Mathieu Rabeau. © Succession
Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
4_Pablo Picasso, Piano, 1920, Museum Berggruen –
Neue Nationalgalerie, Stiftung Preußischer
Kulturbesitz, Berlin. Foto: bpk / Nationalgalerie, SMB,
Museum Berggruen /Jens Ziehe. © Succession
Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
5_Pablo Picasso, Frau mit Mandoline, 1908,
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. Foto:
bpk / Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf /
Walter Klein. © Succession Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
2025
6_Pablo Picasso, Frau in Grün, 1909,
Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum. Foto: Peter
Cox, Eindhoven. © Succession Picasso / VG
Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
7_Pablo Picasso, Frauenbüste, 1926,
Musée national Picasso-Paris. Foto: bpk /
GrandPalaisRMN / Gérard Blot. © Succession
Picasso / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
8_Pablo Picasso, Frauenbildnis, 1941,
Solothurn, Kunstmuseum, Schenkung
Gerda und Peter Zeltner, 2012. Foto:
David Aebi, Bern. © Succession Picasso /
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
9_Pablo Picasso, Zwei Personen, 1934, Kunst Museum
Winterthur, Legat Dr. Emil und Clara Friedrich-Jezler, 1973.
Foto: Reto Pedrini, Zürich.© Succession Picasso / VG Bild-
Kunst, Bonn 2025
10_Pablo Picasso, Sitzende (Frau im Hemd),
1921, Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie. Foto: bpk,
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. © Succession Picasso /
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
