Davos im Winter c. 1926

"Davos in Winter" was rendered in watercolor by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The painting captures the Swiss village of Davos, where Kirchner sought refuge during the First World War. The artist’s move to Davos marked a period of introspection and healing. Having been declared unfit for military service due to mental health issues, Kirchner found solace in the mountains. The stark, expressive lines and unconventional colors of this painting mirror the emotional turbulence he experienced during this period. We can see an Expressionist sensitivity towards the psychological impact of war and displacement. The choice of a winter landscape can be read as a metaphor for the artist's internal state. The act of depicting the landscape around him was a means of asserting his identity as an artist. With an attempt to find a sense of belonging in a world disrupted by conflict, he once remarked on how 'nature held a mirror up to him.' Kirchner tragically took his own life in 1938, as his work was labeled 'degenerate' by the Nazi regime. "Davos in Winter" is a document of a life lived through art, embodying both personal struggle and broader societal anxieties.