Lithograph. Signed and inscribed “Handdruck.” With the estate stamp of the Kunstmuseum Basel (Lugt 1570 b) and the handwritten registration number “L 78” on the reverse. One of only three known copies. On yellow wove paper. 38.4 x 32.7 cm. Sheet: 45,7 x 42 cm.
The artist immortalized the unknown “Gerti” in spontaneous, dynamic drawings in his sketchbook (see Presler, Skizzenbücher, Skb 8), the fully executed drawing “Girl with Half-Mask” (cf. Grohmann, Kirchner-Zeichnungen, Dresden 1925, plate 18) and on a postcard to Erich Heckel showing a very similar motif, accompanied by the words: “Beste Grüße vom Fasching. Dein ELK. Freundlichne Gruhs Gardi und viele, viele herzliche Grüße von der Doris” (cf. Dube-Heynig, E. L. Kirchner, Postkarten und Briefe an Erich Heckel, Hamburg 1984, cat. no. 26). In addition, a print from 1907 also bears the title “Gerti” (cf. Gercken, vol. I, CR no. 145). The paintings “Maskenball” (1910, Pinakothek der Moderne, Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich, Gordon 219) and “Zwei Mädchen mit Masken” (c. 1909, Gordon 76, location unknown) also take up this theme. [CH].

• A rare print from the Dresden “Brücke” period.
• Hand-printed by the artist.
• One of only three known copies, one of which is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
• The first copy of this lithograph to appear on the international auction market (source: artprice.com).
• “Best regards from Carnival. Yours, ELK“: a very similar motif appears again in the same year on a painted postcard from E. L. Kirchner to Erich Heckel.
• From 1907 onward, ‘Gerti’ appears in several of the artist’s prints: Kirchner’s studio was at that time the living and working space of the ”Brücke" and a meeting place for numerous female amateur models.
We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Dr. Gerd Presler for his expert advice and kind support in cataloging this lot.
LITERATURE: Günther Gercken, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kritisches Werkverzeichnis der Druckgraphik, vol. 2 (1909-1911), Bern 2013, CR no. 395 (illustrated) Gustav Schiefler, Die Graphik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, vol. 1 (until 1916), Berlin-Charlottenburg 1926, CR no. L 78. Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, E. L. Kirchner. Das graphische Werk, Munich 1967, CR no. L 143.

Lebenslust & Totentanz, Kunsthalle Krems, July 18-November 7, 2010

Galerie Utermann. Olbricht Collection, Essen/Berlin (acquired from the above in 2004)

A high-contrast, painterly print, in very good condition. The edges of the sheet are slightly irregular. A few darker fingerprints in the margins. A few tiny, scattered brown spots and isolated tiny creases. A few faint crease marks on the corners of the sheet, slightly more noticeable in the upper right corner. There is a small, professionally repaired tear in the paper and tiny, scattered spots of discoloration. On the lower edge of the sheet, there is a tiny, professionally repaired tear. This condition report was compiled in daylight and to the best of our knowledge and belief.