The Sea near Staberhuk

1908

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

(German, 1880–1938)

Culture

Germany, 20th century

Medium

lithograph

Credit Line

Gift of Louise S. Richards in honor of William Mathewson Milliken on his 85th year 1974.104

Catalogue raisonné

Dube 53

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Location

Not on view

Description

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this print during the first year that he learned the lithographic process. In contrast to convention, he wished to make it immediately apparent that a lithograph was not a drawing. To do so, he used lithographic wash to draw right to the edges of the stone, abruptly cutting off the composition and emphasizing the stone’s irregular contour with inked edges. The spontaneity of the quickly drawn marks that mimic the weather and wind of the sea, coupled with the emphasis on the materiality of the stone, matched Kirchner’s quest for truth in his art.