Nude Girl in the Bath, 1908

Blatt: 352 x 523 mm
Druckstock: 285 x 345 mm

Physical Description: Woodcut in black on Japanese laid paper

Inventory Number: 68004

Object Number: 68004 D

Acquisition: Acquired in 2019 as a bequest from Ulrike Crespo from the Karl Ströher Collection

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

Texts

About the Work

Woodcut played a key role in Kirchner’s printmaking oeuvre, paving his way to a radically simplified mode of depiction. 'Nude Girl in the Bath' of 1908 is composed of a few distinct, almost coarse-looking forms and relies strongly on the effects of contrasts and two-dimensionality. Possibly inspired by Edgar Degas, Kirchner frequently depicted the motif of the nude washing herself in drawings, prints, and paintings. The unrestrained, everyday poses and movements held a strong appeal for him.

About the Acquisition

The Städel Museum has the photographer, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and long-time Frankfurt resident Ulrike Crespo (1950–2019) to thank for more than ninety works ranging from classical modernism to American pop art. The paintings, drawings, and prints by Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Dix, Oskar Schlemmer, Max Ernst, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, and others originally belonged to the holdings of her grandfather, the Darmstadt-based industrialist Karl Ströher (1890–1977), who amassed an extensive art collection after World War II.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Nude Girl in the Bath

Artist

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Period Produced

20th century

Object Type

art print

Physical Description: Woodcut in black on Japanese laid paper

Material

japanese paper

Technique

woodcut

Geographic Reference

German

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Nicht bezeichnet

Captions Added Later: Verso nummeriert unten links (mit Bleistift): 4983; unterhalb des Basler Nachlassstempels: K 5360
Verso unten links Basler Nachlassstempel (Lugt 1570b), mit handschriftlichem Vermerk der Werkverzeichnisnummer von Schiefler (in Schwarz): H 103 II D

Watermark: Nicht vorhanden

Work Catalogues: Gercken 260
Dube H 145
Schiefler H 103

Property and Acquisition

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History: Nachlass Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Davos, 1938 [1]

...

Verst. Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett (31. Auktion) an Karl Ströher (1890-1977), Darmstadt, 20. Mai 1958 (Los-Nr. 510) [2]

Nachlass Karl Ströher, 1977

an seine Enkelin Ulrike Crespo (1950-2019), Frankfurt am Main

Vermächtnis an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 2019 [3].

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: