Dance of Colours, 1933

Blatt: 598 x 431 mm
Druckstock: 502 x 354 mm

Physical Description: Colour woodcut from three printing blocks, partially sawn in pieces, on Japanese paper 3rd state (of 3)

Inventory Number: 65728

Object Number: 65728 D

Acquisition: Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate

Status: Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Kirchner executed “Dance of Colours” in conjunction with the decoration of a ceremonial hall in the Folkwang Museum in Essen – a project that ultimately came to nought. The print reveals a close interrelationship with the artist’s paintings. The theme is the breaking down of white sunlight into the three pure spectral colours: red, yellow and blue. The dancers symbolize the coloured light and thus also the rhythm and musicality of the colours.

About the Acquisition

From 1900 onwards, the Frankfurt chemist and industrialist Carl Hagemann (1867‒1940) assembled one of the most important private collections of modern art. It included numerous paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints, especially by members of the artist group “Die Brücke”. After Carl Hagemann died in an accident during the Second World War, the then Städel director Ernst Holzinger arranged for Hagemann’s heirs to evacuate his collection with the museum’s collection. In gratitude, the family donated almost all of the works on paper to the Städel Museum in 1948. Further donations and permanent loans as well as purchases of paintings and watercolours from the Hagemann estate helped to compensate for the losses the museum had suffered in 1937 as part of the Nazi’s “Degenerate Art” campaign. Today, the Hagemann Collection forms the core of the Städel museum’s Expressionist collection.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Dance of Colours

Artist

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Period Produced

20th century

Object Type

art print

Physical Description: Colour woodcut from three printing blocks, partially sawn in pieces, on Japanese paper 3rd state (of 3)

Material

japanese paper

Technique

colour woodcut

Geographic Reference

German

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Signiert unterhalb der Darstellung rechts (mit Bleistift): E L Kirchner; bezeichnet unterhalb der Darstellung links: Handdruck; betitelt unterhalb der Darstellung mittig: Farbentanz FH

Captions Added Later: Bezeichnet unten links (mit Bleistift): 20
Verso nummeriert unten links (mit Bleistift): 510.
Verso Stempel (zweifach) des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356), mit zugehöriger Inventarnummer

Watermark

Nicht vorhanden

Work Catalogues

Gercken 1727 III 2 (von III)
Dube H. 636 c III (von III)
nicht bei Schiefler

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Departement

Department of Prints and Drawings

Collection

Städelsches Kunstinstitut

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: Public Domain

Acquisition: Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

Iconclass

Primary

31AA the (nude) human figure; 'Corpo humano' (Ripa) - AA - female human figure
48C8422 female dancer
22C4 colours, pigments, and paints
31D15 adult woman

Secondary

22C4(BLUE) colours, pigments, and paints: blue
22C4(RED) colours, pigments, and paints: red
22C4(YELLOW) colours, pigments, and paints: yellow
22C4(WHITE) colours, pigments, and paints: white

Associative

22C light

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), Davos

Carl Hagemann(1867-1940), Frankfurt am Main, 1934

Nachlass Carl Hagemann, Frankfurt am Main, 1940

Schenkung der Erben an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1948.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known: