Forest Scene (Moritzburg Lakes), ca. 1909 – 1925

About the Work

Between 1909 and 1911, the three Brücke artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel and Max Pechstein repeatedly went on excursions to the Moritzburg Lakes. As one of the main centres of the burgeoning nudist movement, the location corresponded to their ideals of a simple life close to nature and an uncomplicated approach to the body and sexuality. Accordingly, three women in various stages of undress are lying completely relaxed on towels. A man is standing half hidden behind a birch tree while a girl is swinging in the hammock. The three artists painted the scene at the same time and from the same perspective - a contest among equals. Kirchner, however, overpainted his picture during the 1920s, whereby it now appears considerably more two-dimensional than the typical style of the Brücke artists.