Leuchtturmzimmer

This extremely rare drypoint shows Kirchner and his model Erna Schilling in the lighthouse on Fehmarn, a wild and beautiful island in the Baltic. What began as a brief affair between an artist and his model became extremely important for Kirchner. Between 1912 and 1914 the two, either alone or with friends, visited the island on several occasions, staying with the lighthouse keeper Niko Luthmann and his young family. The natural beauty of his surroundings, a far cry from the hectic urban cityscape of Berlin where he had moved the year before, had a strong stimulating effect on Kirchner - he frequently rose at dawn to paint and sketch the landscape, and on their second visit during which this drypoint was produced he painted no fewer than 68 canvases. Later he was to refer to the period: 'den wohl glücklichsten und fruchtbarsten Sommer auf der Insel.'

The present composition is something of a love poem to his partner. A dancer in a Berlin nightclub when they met, Erna doubted the strength of Kirchner's affection, and believed their relationship would be short-lived. In this print, as in the painting currently in the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio (Sirak Collection) (see figure 1.) Kirchner gave his answer. The composition as a whole is carefully balanced, with the figures symmetrically arranged either side of a table, an object associated with domestic harmony. On the table a jug and bowl stand as symbols for their sexual union. The atmosphere is intimate and tranquil, accented by the bed in the lower left corner, and the walls which closely frame the composition. Beyond is the sea, a reminder of where the idyllic scene takes place.

Kirchner was extremely reluctant to allow anyone but himself to do the printing once a plate had been completed, hence the rarity of his graphic work. The inscription in the lower margin '1 Druck, handdruck' implies that this is the first impression from the plate, printed by the artist.