Sketch of a lying cat 1929

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner sketched this lying cat with pencil on paper. As a member of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke, Kirchner sought to represent raw emotion and subjective experience. Here, we see that raw emotion is also present in an animal. The cat's expression is one that seems deeply human, as though it is weighed down with the struggles of the world. Kirchner’s mental health deteriorated after his service in World War One, which led him to isolate himself in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps in this isolation, he saw reflections of his own mental state in the animals around him. This sketch is particularly evocative, its emotional and personal dimensions encourage us to reflect on our own experiences and how they shape our perceptions of the world around us.