1915, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, The Soldier's Bath (Das Soldatenbad) -- National Museum (Oslo)
From the museum label:
This painting is a stark depiction of the effects of war on man. Crude figure drawing and the densely filled pictorial space heighten the sense of overcrowding and discomfort. Kirchner paints the work after suffering a mental breakdown as a soldier in World War I. He is exempt from further military service, but the experience has a lasting impact. He takes his own life in 1938.
In the years before World War I, Kirchner is a leading figure in the artist group Die Brücke. Emphasising subjectivity, emotion and spontaneity, the style of this group becomes known as part of German Expressionism. The painting has an unusual ownership history. Before World War II, it is wrongfully taken from the Jewish art dealer, Alfred Flechtheim in Germany. Later, it changes hands several times before being returned to his heirs in 2017. In 2018, they sell the work to Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.
1915, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, The Soldier's Bath (Das Soldatenbad) -- National Museum (Oslo)
From the museum label:
This painting is a stark depiction of the effects of war on man. Crude figure drawing and the densely filled pictorial space heighten the sense of overcrowding and discomfort. Kirchner paints the work after suffering a mental breakdown as a soldier in World War I. He is exempt from further military service, but the experience has a lasting impact. He takes his own life in 1938.
In the years before World War I, Kirchner is a leading figure in the artist group Die Brücke. Emphasising subjectivity, emotion and spontaneity, the style of this group becomes known as part of German Expressionism. The painting has an unusual ownership history. Before World War II, it is wrongfully taken from the Jewish art dealer, Alfred Flechtheim in Germany. Later, it changes hands several times before being returned to his heirs in 2017. In 2018, they sell the work to Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.