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Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte: Die Geliebte (Peter Schlemihl's Wondrous Story: The Beloved)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

1915

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Early Modern Nude

Dominant colour

Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte: Die Geliebte (Peter Schlemihl's Wondrous Story: The Beloved) is a 1915 ink by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
When & what style?: 1915
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This painting shows a woman sitting in a dim room, her body turned slightly away. She’s nude, with one arm resting on her knee and the other behind her. Her face is blurred, and she wears a dark hat. In the background, a man stands near a window, his face also unclear. The colors are bold—reds, blacks, and yellows—but the scene feels tense. The artist used a woodcut technique, which means they carved the design into wood and then printed it. This method creates strong, flat areas of color, like the dark hat or the bright window behind the man. Look up woodcut to see how this printing process works.