Life (Gujer Design), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Life (Gujer Design)
DE
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Related external works

Part of the same work process

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Das Leben. Teppichentwurf (Hagemann-Skizze), Aquarell über Bleistift, 333 x 509 mm. Bern, Davos, Sammlung E.W.K.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Das Leben. Teppichentwurf (Hagemann-Entwurf), Aquarell, Gouache und schwarze Tusche über Bleistift, 316 x 368 mm. Privatbesitz

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Life (Gujer Design), ca. 1927


Blatt
272 x 356 mm
Physical Description
Pen and black ink over pencil and watercolour on light yellow paper, mounted on Japanese paper
Inventory Number
SG 3283
Object Number
SG 3283 Z
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

In the 1920s, Kirchner’s works began to exhibit an increasingly ornamental organization of the surface. This “carpet style” had emerged in part from his productive collaboration with the weaver Lise Gujer (1893–1967), whose acquaintance he had made in Davos in 1921. Gujer wove more than thirty textile works after designs by Kirchner, among them the carpet "Life" (Städel Museum, Inv. Nr. 2111) commissioned by Carl Hagemann (1867–1940). The artist made several preparatory drawings for the scene. The earliest version, the Gujer Design, already features the depictions of the cattle drive and the path of life that would dominate the final composition (Städel Museum, Inv. No. 17768).

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Life (Gujer Design)
Draughtsman
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Pen and black ink over pencil and watercolour on light yellow paper, mounted on Japanese paper
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Production Reason
Captions Added Later
Verso im Bereich der Ergänzung auf der Kaschierung brauner Nachlassstempel: aus dem Nachlass von / Fräulein Lise Gujer, Davos-Sertig / 13.3.1967, mit dazugehöriger Nummerierung (in Schwarz): 49
Verso Stempel der Städtischen Galerie, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2371c)
Watermark
  • Nicht vorhanden
Work Catalogues
  • Lenz 1974, 79

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Administration
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

Iconclass

Primary
  • 25HH11(+1) mountains - HH - ideal landscapes (+ landscape with figures, staffage)
  • 0 Abstract, Non-representational Art

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)
Lise Gujer (1893-1967)
Nachlass Lise Gujer, 1967
Verst. Kornfeld und Klipstein, Bern an die Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, 15. Juni 1968.

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.

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  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

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Last update

29.03.2023