Three bathers, 1913 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner ::

Details

Alternative title

Drei Badende

Date

1913

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions

197.5 x 147.5 cm stretcher; 215.2 x 165.0 x 6.5 cm frame

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Purchased with funds provided by the Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation 1984

Location

Not on display

Accession number

158.1984

Copyright

Reproduction requests

Artist information

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Works in the collection

2

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About

As one of the founders of the artists’ group known as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in 1905, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is essential to the history of German expressionism. Favouring jagged outlines over smoothly articulated ones, and employing shrill, often acid colour, expressionist artists sought to transmit an emotional urgency that they believed had been lost in recent art.

The flat, overlapping forms of the nudes in 'Three bathers' resemble Kirchner’s painted woodcarvings, which in turn echo medieval sculptures of Eve. The influence of African statuary is also visible in the figures’ stiff-armed poses and mask-like faces. The three women are Berlin holidaymakers bathing in the Baltic Sea, but Kirchner depicts them as participants in an ancient encounter with nature. At the same time, the wave rising behind them seems to predict a calamity to come. In July of the following year, war overwhelmed Europe.

Exhibition history

Shown in 15 exhibitions

Arbeiten von EL Kirchner, Kunstsalon Ludwig Schames, Frankfurt am Main, Oct 1916–Oct 1916
Kirchner: first American retrospective exhibition of oils, watercolours, prints, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, 08 Dec 1950–12 Jan 1951
Lehmbruck and his contemporaries, Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, 24 Sep 1951–13 Oct 1951
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, 16 Apr 1952–10 May 1952
Closing exhibition. Sculpture, paintings and drawings, Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, 08 Jun 1955–Jun 1955
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: a retrospective exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 20 Mar 1969–27 Apr 1969
Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 26 Sep 1986–23 Nov 1986
German expressionism: the colours of desire, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 11 Oct 1989–10 Dec 1989

German expressionism: the colours of desire, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 20 Dec 1989–18 Feb 1990
Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994
German expressionism: art and society, Palazzo Grassi S.p.a., Venice, 06 Sep 1997–11 Jan 1998
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner., Museo d'Arte Moderna della Città di Lugano, Switzerland, 19 Mar 2000–02 Jul 2000
(On loan to the National Gallery of Australia), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 01 May 2010–31 Aug 2010
Vibrant Metropolis / Idyllic Nature. Kirchner - The Berlin Years, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, 10 Feb 2017–07 May 2017
1937. Die Aktion "Entartete Kunst" in Düsseldorf, Museum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf, 14 Jul 2017–29 Oct 2017
20th-Century galleries, lower level 1 (rehang), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Aug 2022–2023

Bibliography

Referenced in 26 publications

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Sydney, 1986, cover (illus.). cat.no. 138
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Great gifts, great patrons: an exhibition celebrating private patronage of the Gallery, Sydney, 1994. no catalogue numbers
Stephanie Barron and Wolf-Dieter Dube (Editors), German expressionism: art and society, Milan, 1997, 170, 171 (colour illus.). cat.no. 19
Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Die Künstlergemeinschaft "Brücke", Feldafing, 1956, (illus.). fig.167
Busch-Reisinger Museum, Kirchner, Cambridge, 1950. no catalogue numbers, as 'Bathers'
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1997, Sydney, 1997, 11 (colour illus.).
Edmund Capon AM, OBE and Jan Meek (Editors), Portrait of a Gallery, 'The Foundation', pg. 12-13, Sydney, 1984, 12, 13 (colour illus.).
Rudy Chiappini, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 'Eine Kritische Betrachtung der Gesellschaft im Zerfall', pg. 43-62, Lugano, 2000, cover (colour illus.), 56, 57 (colour illus.), 72. cat.no. 35
Curt Valentin Gallery, Lehmbruck and his contemporaries, New York, 1951. cat.no. 22, as 'Bathers'
Curt Valentin Gallery, Closing exhibition. Sculpture, paintings and drawings, New York, 1955, (illus.). cat.no. 52, as 'Bathers'
Curt Valentin Gallery, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, New York, 1952, (illus.). cat.no. 7, as 'Bathers'
Lorenz Dittmann, Magdalena Moeller, Armin Zweite and Hubertus Froning, German expressionism: the colours of desire, Sydney, 1989, 62 (colour illus.). cat.no. 23
Renée Free, AGNSW Collections, 'The Western Heritage, Renaissance to Twentieth Century', pg. 108-172, Sydney, 1994, 148, 149 (colour illus.).
Renée Free, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'European', pg. 36-56, Sydney, 1988, 52, 53 (colour illus.).
Robert Goldwater, Primitivism in modern painting, New York, 1938. fig.13
Donald Gordon, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: a retrospective exhibition, Boston, 1968, 72 (illus.). cat.no. 39
Donald Gordon, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 'Berlin', pg.90-106, Cambridge, 1968, 90, 92, 106, 317 (illus.). plate 53, cat.no. 356
Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture', pg. 17-77, Sydney, 1999, 55 (colour illus.).
Kunstsalon Ludwig Schames, Arbeiten von EL Kirchner, Frankfurt am Main, 1916. no catalogue numbers
Susan Lee (Editor), Art investigator, 'New Visions' - German Expressionism: Die Brücke', pg. 178-79, Melbourne, 1998, 179 (colour illus.).
Elwyn Lynn, The Weekend Australian, 'Nature versus humanity', Sydney, 01 Sep 1984-02 Sep 1984.
Franz Roh, German art in the 20th century, London, 1968, 54 (illus.). as 'Feldafing', Collection Buchheim
Karin Schick, Vibrant metropolis / Idyllic nature. Kirchner - The Berlin years, '"Happiness in a quiet corner": Kirchner on Fehmarn', pg. 32-45, Munich, 2017, 39, 129, 160 (colour illus.). cat.no. 41
Katja Terlau, 1937. Die Aktion "Entartete Kunst" in Düsseldorf, 'Die Beschlagnahme von Gemälden und Bildwerken/ The confiscation of paintings and sculptures', pg.26-41, Dusseldorf, 2017, 28, 29 (colour illus.). 1937. The "Degenerate Art" Campaign in Düsseldorf
Michael Wardell, Look, 'Foundation building', pg.14-17, Sydney, Sep 2004, 14 (colour illus.).
Deborah Wye, Kirchner and the Berlin street, 'Kirchner's working process: The street scenes', pg.67-81, New York, 2008, 77, 78 (colour illus.). fig.35

Provenance

Kunstsalon Ludwig Schames, 1916, Frankfurt am Main/Germany, Exhibited October 1916

Paul Multhaupt, pre 27 Mar 1928, Düsseldorf/Germany, Erkrath, near Düsseldorf

Kunstsammlungen der Stadt Düsseldorf, 27 Mar 1928-26 Aug 1937, Düsseldorf/Germany, Gift of Paul Multhaupt 27 March 1928. Confiscated by the German Reich as "Degenerate Art" from the Kunstsammlungen der Stadt Düsseldorf on 26 August 1937. Number 2046 on the National Socialist inventory, label verso. Not exhibited in the "Degenerate Art" exhibition. Stored at Schönhausen Palace, Berlin (storage of "useable" works of art) from August 1938 until 8 December 1939. Purchased by Karl Buchholz, 8 December 1939.

Buchholz Gallery Curt Valentin, 08 Dec 1939-1951, New York/New York/United States of America, Berlin dealer Karl Buchholz, was one of the four main art dealers granted permission by the German Reich to sell confiscated works of "Degenerate Art" on the international art market. In 1940 the painting was shipped to Buchholz’s New York gallery, run by Curt Valentin, inventory no. NY1957. In 1951 the gallery was renamed the Curt Valentin Gallery.

Curt Valentin Gallery, 1951-Jun 1955, New York/New York/United States of America, Purchased by Mr and Mrs Frederick Zimmermann, June 1955 from the 'Closing exhibition. Sculpture, paintings and drawings'.

Mr & Mrs Frederick Zimmermann, Jun 1955-circa 1969, New York/New York/United States of America, Frederick Zimmermann (USA 1906-67). Loaned by Mrs Dorothy Zimmermann (USA d.1989) to 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: a retrospective exhibition' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 20 March - 27 April 1969. Touring exhibition, exhibited in Boston only.

Galerie Melki, 1973, Paris/France, Inventory no. 2073

Fischer Fine Art Ltd, pre 1984, London/England, Purchased by the AGNSW from Fischer Fine Art 1984. Inventory no. F 10.714

Three bathers