Straßenszene. Um 1914.
Color chalks and pencil.
With the estate stamp (Lugt 1570 b) and the handwritten number "St. 114" on the reverse. On fine wove paper. 20.2 x 15.6 cm (7.9 x 6.1 in), the full sheet. [CH].

• E. L. Kirchner's Berlin "Street Scenes" are regarded he absolute highlight of his artistic oeuvre.
• In 1911, the artist moved to Berlin and began to process his impressions of life in the streets of Berlin in drawings, prints and paintings.
• With a multitude of figures, its dense composition, dynamic strokes and bold colors, this drawing perfectly captures the hustle and bustle of a modern city.
• Part of a comprehensive retrospective exhibition in Seattle, Boston and Pasedena in 1968/69.
• Consistent provenance.
• E. L. Kirchner's famous “Street Scene” drawings in such an elaborate color scheme are extremely rare on the international auction market (source: artprice.com).

PROVENANCE: Artist's estate (Davos 1938, Kunstmuseum Basel 1946, with the estate stamp on the reverse).
Galerie Nierendorf, Berlin (acquired from the above).
Wolfgang Wittrock art dealership, Berlin (acquired from the above in 2007).
Olbricht Collection, Essen/Berlin (acquired from the above in 2007).

EXHIBITION: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. A Retrospective Exhibition, Seattle Art Museum, November 23, 1968 - January 5, 1969; Pasedena Art Museum, January 6 - February 23, 1969; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, March 20 - April 27, 1969, cat. no. 85 (illu.).
Künstler der Brücke in Berlin 1908-1914, Brücke Museum, Berlin, September 1 - November 26, 1972, cat. no. 1 (illu., plate 18).
De Tiepolo à Richter. L'Europe en dialogue, Musée Arte & Histoire, Brussels, May 24 - September 30, 2018.

LITERATURE: Magdalena M. Moeller, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Die Straßenszenen 1913-1915, Munich 1993, p. 177, cat. no. 26 (full-page illu. in color).

"The Berlin 'Street Scenes' represent Kirchner's most important group of works. [..] They are a product of the modern city. [..] Swiftness of capture, simultaneity of movements and impressions, maximum tension and emotion, the staccato drawing and painting style are the distinguishing features of works that Kirchner created in all techniques and which represent a pinnacle in his oeuvre."
Magdalena M. Moeller, in: Magdalena M. Moeller, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Die Straßenszenen 1913-1915, Munich 1993, p. 24.