Davos, 1918. Far from the chaos of war, German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner finds renewed creative energy. Before his easel, he captures the essence of a young woman holding a bouquet of pink carnations, a fragment of tenderness in an upturned world.
A Portrait in Expressionist Colors
The hues vibrate on the canvas. The deep blue of the dress contrasts with the warm tones of the face with its stylized features. Kirchner simplifies forms, elongates the neck, geometrizes the face. The pink carnations burst forth on the left, an almost abstract floral mass. Behind Maryli, a mountain landscape takes shape: Alpine houses, angular peaks. The brushwork is lively, nervous. Flat areas of color juxtapose without concern for realism. This oil on canvas reveals the emotional intensity characteristic of German Expressionism.
Swiss Exile, Artistic Rebirth
In 1917, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner fled Germany, broken by the First World War. In Davos, he rebuilt his life and his art. The Alpine landscape now permeates his compositions. He also inspired young Swiss sculptors such as Hermann Scherer and Albert Müller. In this mountain refuge, Kirchner renewed his palette, sometimes softening his forms while preserving that expressive urgency that defined Die Brücke, the movement he co-founded in Dresden in 1905.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Visionary Artist
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) remains one of the pioneers of Expressionism. His work explores modern alienation, sensuality, and anxiety. In Davos, he painted peasants, landscapes, and portraits imbued with a rediscovered humanity.
Think about it
💭 When you meet Maryli’s gaze, what emotion do you perceive lingering in her eyes?
About this work
- Maryli (Young Woman with a Bouquet of Carnations)
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
- 1918-1919
- Oil on canvas
- 91.44 × 81.28 cm (36 × 32 in.)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Broad Contemporary Art Museum
- https://collections.lacma.org/node/233350
