Dancing Couple (Tanzpaar)

1909

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Associated Names
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Artist, German, 1880 - 1938

The image shows flowing black lines and shapes against a vibrant yellow background. The lines and forms suggest human figures entwined or interacting, with one prominent figure having a discernible face. The curves and contours resemble intertwined limbs and abstract shapes that may represent draped fabrics or organic forms. The elements in the visual evoke movement and fluidity, akin to a dynamic dance captured in an abstract style.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph on yellow wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Ruth and Jacob Kainen Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 44.6 x 36.8 cm (17 9/16 x 14 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.95.2

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Dube 1967, Vol. (L), no. 120, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Kirchner estate (L.Supp.1570b annotated L 150 II). (Roman Norbert Ketterer, Lugano), Ruth Cole Kainen [1922-2009], Washington, D.C. (Lugt 4740), purchased June 8, 1974; gift to NGA, 1986.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1977

  • Paper in Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1977, no. 124.

1988

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., June 1988.

2003

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003, no. 38.

2014

  • Modern German Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014.

2024

  • The Anxious Eye: German Expressionism and Its Legacy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2024.

Bibliography

1967

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

1985

  • NGA Kainen Coll. 1985, 3, repro. p.30.

2003

  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1880-1938. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003: no. 38

2013

  • Grecken, Gunther Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Kritisches Werkverzeichnis der Druckgraphik. Bern: Galerie Kornfeld Verlag AG, 2013.

Inscriptions

in later hand, lower left in graphite: Sch I 150 II; in unknown hand, lower left verso in graphite: K356142 3185; by unknown hand, lower left verso in graphite: C1758

Wikidata ID

Q74875744

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