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Chestnut Trees in Moonlight

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

1904

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Early Modern

Dominant colour

Chestnut Trees in Moonlight is a 1904 ink by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
When & what style?: 1904
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This painting shows a night scene with big, dark trees and a pale sky. The trees stand out in deep brown and black, while the sky is a soft blue with a hint of yellow near the ground. There’s a fence or wall in the middle, and the whole scene looks a little rough around the edges, like it was made by hand. The artist used three colors—reddish brown, blue, and green—to create the whole image. This was done with a printing method that leaves visible lines, making it look less smooth than a painted picture. Look up woodcut to see how this technique works.