Key facts
Female Nude before the Fire (Weiblicher Akt vor dem Feuer) is a small oil on cardboard painted in 1929 by Melchior Lechter. The artist was born in Münster in 1865 and died in Raron in 1937. Trained as a stained-glass painter, Lechter made his name around 1900 as the designer of the poet Stefan George’s books. His style is associated with Jugendstil and Symbolism. This late painting shows a nude woman seated in profile, backlit by a fire, in a contrast of orange and green. It sheds light on the lesser-known painterly side of an artist famous above all for his books. The LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster, which holds the artist’s estate, owns the work.
I was moved by this work on cardboard by Melchior Lechter. I must admit I didn’t know this artist before coming across him while browsing the online collections of the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster. His name is usually associated with the sumptuous books he designed for Stefan George’s circle. So I didn’t expect such a free painting. I was pleasantly surprised by his handling of colour and light. The fire in the background casts a fertile light that backlights this female nude: the body is not described, it is revealed by its silhouette, as if cut out of the heat. I love this use of colour, simple and vivid, and the way the fire radiates through the shadows of the room. Zooming in on the image, I noticed that the brushstrokes remain visible and that the cardboard sometimes seems to show through. That is what gives the scene its vibrancy, almost a sketch caught from life. What also strikes me is the format: barely 21 x 15 cm. In such a small space, Lechter manages to create a warm, intimate atmosphere that may recall some of the night-time interiors of the Nabis. It’s exactly the kind of discovery that reminds me why I love digging through museums’ digital collections: you come across quiet works that deserve to be looked at for a long time.
Female Nude before the Fire
A red dot glows at the tips of her hands. Tiny, almost an ember. Then follow her back: a pearl-grey curve, powdery, outlined by a red thread. On the left, the fire bursts into orange and vermilion. On the right, an emerald green envelops the room. The woman sits in profile, leaning towards this glow. The floor sinks into a night blue. At the bottom left, the date 1929 is inscribed in red.
Melchior Lechter
Melchior Lechter is born in Münster in 1865. He first trains there as a stained-glass painter. In 1884, he leaves to study art in Berlin. In 1895, he meets the poet Stefan George there. Lechter designs George’s collections as total works of book art, in a Jugendstil steeped in Symbolism. By 1929, this collaboration is long past. Lechter now exhibits his work in his own Berlin apartment. Look at the red outline around the body. It calls to mind the leads of a stained-glass window, separating the coloured panes. Here, the light does not fall from a window. It springs from the colour itself, laid in oil on cardboard. The Münster museum now holds the artist’s estate. According to the online collection record, this work is not currently on display.
In detail
Come closer. The warmth is everywhere, except on the skin. The fire reddens the room, the green envelops it. The body, though, keeps the colour of ash. Is she warming herself, or is the fire already taking hold of her? On this pocket-sized format, Lechter fits an entire night. Finally, return to the ember between her fingers. Everything converges on it, and yet nothing explains it.
News: light on the LWL-Museum’s programme for 2028
On 2 October 2026, the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster, where this Female Nude before the Fire is held, announced a major exhibition on light for 2028. It will be titled “Licht. Vom Licht in der Kunst zur Lichtkunst” (“From Light in Art to Light Art”). The LWL’s culture committee approved the project, and the final decision lay with the Landschaftsausschuss (regional committee) on 5 October. The exhibition is to span art from the 16th century to the present day. It will bring together works from the collection, including pieces by Otto Piene, Joseph Beuys, Pierre Soulages, Carl Gustav Carus, August Macke and Christian Rohlfs, alongside loans of works by Caravaggio and Georges de La Tour. It will also extend to the museum’s surroundings, with light performances, dance theatre and concerts. The theme echoes Lechter’s painting, in which the glow of the fire models the sitter’s body.
Source: LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur.
A question for you
This nude was painted in 1929 by an Art Nouveau artist: does it feel of its time to you, or of another era?
About this work
- Female Nude before the Fire (Weiblicher Akt vor dem Feuer)
- Melchior Lechter
- 1929
- Oil on cardboard
- 21 x 15 cm
- LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster (inv. 733 LM)
- https://sammlung-online.lwl-museum-kunst-kultur.de/werke/38435
