Western Harbour in Frankfurt am Main, 1916

Dimensions: 84.0 x 95.0 cm

Physical Description: Oil on canvas

Inventory Number: SG 1122

Acquisition: Acquired in 1950 from Maria Helsig; formerly Carl Hagemann Collection

Status: On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 12

Texts

About the Work

Labour at the docks was a dirty business – smoke and soot everywhere. In ‘Western Harbour in Frankfurt’, little is to be seen of toil and bustle. On the contrary, the ships moor peacefully at the pier. Two stevedores have turned their backs on the compound and are strolling in the viewer’s direction. They are far too large for their surroundings. Kirchner has depicted the harbour itself with dynamically receding lines in delicate shades of pink. The yellowish green hue of the water and sky adds an unreal atmosphere to the scene.

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.

Video

Gastkommentar: Ursachen des Klimawandels mit Klimaforscher Dirk Notz

Was sieht ein Klimaforscher in den Kunstwerken der Städel Sammlung? In dieser Reihe eröffnet Dirk Notz (Forschungsgruppenleiter am Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg) individuelle Sichtweisen auf die Werke des Städel Museums. Er erinnert mit der Betrachtung von Lucas van Valckenborchs "Winterlandschaften" an Klimaschwankungen in der Vergangenheit und führt am Beispiel von Ernst Ludwig Kirchners "Frankfurter Westhafen" den menschlichen Einfluss am Klimawandel vor Augen. Mehr Infos unter: https://www.staedelmuseum.de/de/angebote/gastkommentar Die Werke in unserer Digitalen Sammlung Lucas van Valckenborch, Winterlandschaft bei Antwerpen mit Schneefall (1575): https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/winterlandschaft-bei-antwerpen-mit-schneefall Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frankfurter Westhafen (1916): https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/frankfurter-westhafen

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Western Harbour in Frankfurt am Main

Painter

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Period Produced

20th century

School

expressionism

Object Type

painting (artwork)

Physical Description: Oil on canvas

Material

canvas

Technique

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Signiert verso: E L Kirchner

Work Catalogues

Gordon 1968, Nr. 472

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Administration

Modern Art 1800–1945

Collection

Städtische Galerie

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: Public Domain

Acquisition: Acquired in 1950 from Maria Helsig; formerly Carl Hagemann Collection

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

city view

Main Motif

Iconclass

Primary

25I12 prospect of city, town panorama, silhouette of city
61F(FRANKFURTER WESTHAFEN) names of historical buildings, sites, streets, etc. (FRANKFURTER WESTHAFEN)
46C223 harbour
61E(FRANKFURT AM MAIN) names of cities and villages (FRANKFURT AM MAIN)
61D(MAIN) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (MAIN) (MAIN)

Secondary

46C112 bridge
46C1511 railway, train
46A17 working class, labourers

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Carl Hagemann (1906-1940), Essen/Frankfurt, 1916

Nachlass Carl Hagemann, 1940

Depositum im Städel Museum, Frankfurt, 1941

verkauft an die Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, 1950.

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: