Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Lot n° 512

Fränzi in front of a carved figure. Chalk on strong fibrous paper. (About 1910). Approx. 59 x 47.5 cm. As in the painting "Fränzi vor geschnitztem Stuhl" from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection (oil on canvas, ca. 70.5 x 50 cm, 1910), here too Fränzi is sitting in front of a small figure sketched behind her, probably after an African model. In the painting the chair, carved by Kirchner himself, is executed in even greater detail. In our drawing Fränzi is still shown in a slightly turned sitting position. She has tied her long hair up a little and individual strands of hair still fall over her shoulders on the right and left. Kirchner only hints at the girl's finely executed clothing in the painting here. He captures the girl in quick, strong brushstrokes. The sitter's body is also drawn only with single outlines. It is possible that the present large-format sheet served as a preparatory drawing for the painting of the Dresden years, which was executed in the same year. Fränzi and her sister Marcella, two Aristotelian children aged about 14 and 12, became the preferred models of the Brücke artists during the Dresden period, and thus important works of this creative phase were created. Cf. literature: Henze, Wolfgang, Die Plastik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners. Monograph and catalogue raisonné, Wichtrach 2002, p. 310. Provenance: Artist's estate, with the Basel estate stamp (Lugt 1570b), the handwritten registration number " K Dre/Ba 18" and the number "K 8730" on the verso; Galerie Utermann, Dortmund. Taxation: Regular Taxation (VAT).