Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte: Der Verkauf des Schattens (Peter Schlemihl's Wondrous Story: The Sale of His Shadow)

1915

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Associated Names
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Artist, German, 1880 - 1938

The image contains strong angular lines and a mix of geometric and organic shapes, forming an abstract composition. In the center, deep purple and black shapes resemble a figure draped in a cloak. Surrounding this central shape are sharp, fragmented lines and patterns in red and black. A red circular form is positioned above the purple shape, resembling an umbrella. The composition hints at an outdoor scene with stylized foliage and figures.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color woodcut printed from two blocks on medium thick wove paper

  • Credit Line

    New Century Fund and Gift of Ruth and Jacob Kainen

  • Dimensions

    block: 32.2 x 22.1 cm (12 11/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 41 x 34.8 cm (16 1/8 x 13 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1999.68.2

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Dube 1967, Vol. (W), no. 263, State b/b

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr. Frédéric Bauer, Davos, acquired from the artist; private collection, Germany, after 1954; (Wolfgang Wittrock, Düsseldorf); purchased 1999 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2000

  • Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000-2001.

2003

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003, no. 149.

2007

  • Van Gogh and Expressionism, Neue Gallerie, New York, 2007 (exh. cat. by Jill Lloyd et al.), pl. 62.

2019

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Neue Galerie New York, 2019 - 2020, no. 41.

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (Neue), Neue Galerie New York, New York, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1967

  • Dube, Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube. E.L. Kirchner; das graphische Werke. Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1967.

1980

  • Gercken, Günther. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Holzschnittzyklen: Peter Schlemihl, Triumph der Liebe, Abasolom. Stuttgart, 1980: 20-21.

2003

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003: 12, 25, no. 149.

Inscriptions

lower right below image in graphite: E L Kirchner; lower center in graphite: 1 Verkauf des Schattens aus graue Männlein; by later hand, lower right in graphite: Schiefler 265 1916; by later hand, lower left verso in graphite: 22

Wikidata ID

Q75423975

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