Nude Figure 1907

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this painting, Nude Figure, with oil on canvas at an unknown date. There’s something about the way Kirchner lays down paint, a kind of urgent simplicity. You can almost feel him searching, as he’s trying to bring forth the figure. I imagine he's thinking about the weight of the body, how it stands, how it holds itself. Notice how the paint isn’t blended so much as slapped on with these direct, slightly jagged strokes. There are the pale yellows that form the backdrop, contrasting with a stark black vertical, almost bisecting the canvas. The figure is all soft curves and angles, her form rendered in warm tones. The towel she holds is a flurry of white, with hints of blue, that cascade down her back. I often think about how paintings, like this, are really just one big conversation between artists. Kirchner surely looked at the nudes of Matisse and others, and in turn, other artists look at Kirchner, responding, riffing, and building upon these ideas. It’s one big, messy, beautiful, never-ending exchange.