Drei Figuren auf Fehmarn 1914

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this, Drei Figuren auf Fehmarn, using crayon and ink. You can sense the movement in this piece, in the squiggly black lines and soft peach tones, like a sketch made in a hurry, trying to capture a fleeting moment. I imagine Kirchner, on location with his materials, quickly and intuitively making marks, almost as though he's dancing with the landscape. The surface feels raw and immediate, like he's scraping away at the paper to reveal the figures emerging from the earth. Those dark, scribbled lines, they aren't just describing forms; they're vibrating with energy. Kirchner's known for his emotionally charged work, and this is no exception. He's simplifying, reducing the figures to their essential gestures, but somehow amplifying their presence. This reminds me a little of German Expressionist woodcuts, where simplification and rawness were key to communicating feeling. Artists are always bouncing ideas off each other across time, and Kirchner is part of that conversation, taking what came before and pushing it forward, in his own way.