The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2023

Mountain Landscape with Fir Trees

1918/19

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

(German, 1880–1938)

Germany, 20th century

Graphite and brush and black ink

Support: Cream(2) wove paper

Sheet: 34.6 x 50.7 cm (13 5/8 x 19 15/16 in.)

Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds 1963.86

Location

not on view

Description

Following his discharge from the military after a mental and physical breakdown in 1915, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner took refuge at a sanitarium near Davos, Switzerland. The alpine landscape provided a new focus for his work and became a metaphor for his spiritual regeneration. Kirchner sketched this scene with black ink swept over graphite. His viewpoint is one of self-absorption, from within the mountain range rather than from above, a subjective view with vigorous marks that imbue the scene with energy.

Provenance
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Berlin (Lugt 1570b (artist's estate stamp), verso, lower left, in violet ink; notation, by hand, within stamp, in black ink: PDa/Aa 30. [Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Stuttgart]
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 197 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 197 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 245 archive.org
Exhibition history

Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).

Prints and Drawings, 1916-1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 20-July 24, 1966).

German Drawings of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art (April 1-July 13, 1980).

Brush Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art (March 3-May 10, 1981).

Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).

National Schools of Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 14-September 18, 1983).

Cross Section: Graphic Art in Germany after the First World War. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 10, 1989-January 7, 1990).

The German Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 27-June 27, 1993).

Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.86