Cocotte on the Street by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Cocotte on the Street 1915

drawing, woodcut

17_20th-century

drawing

toned paper

light pencil work

pencil sketch

old engraving style

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

pen-ink sketch

woodcut

sketchbook drawing

watercolour illustration

sketchbook art

"Cocotte on the Street" is a 1915 woodcut by German Expressionist artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The work depicts a stylized figure with angular features, representing a prostitute, against a backdrop of geometric shapes. Kirchner's bold lines and stark contrasts capture the anxieties of urban life in early 20th-century Germany, reflecting the movement's emphasis on emotional expression and social commentary. This print is part of the Städel Museum collection.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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In front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, a cocotte with an umbrella comes straight towards the viewer as in a film close-up. In its technical and compositional interlocking of form and colour, this colour woodcut from two blocks anticipates the woodcut series on “Peter Schlemihl” (inv. no. 65603-65610). The three variations of the Städel Museum bear witness to Kirchner’s experimental handling of the printing technique. Whereas the print made from the block with the fundamental elements of the drawing (the so-called drawing block) can stand its ground as a composition in its own right (inv. no. SG 4372), the example solely in black from the block actually cut for the coloured areas (the colour block) has the appearance of a photo negative (inv. no. SG 4373). In the third example (inv. no. 65598), the artist first printed the drawing block in black, and then, over it, pale impressions of the colour block and the drawing block inked partially in monotype manner.