Street scenes


The street scenes are a work of art by the artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made between 1913 and 1915. They are dubbed to be one of the most important works of German expressionism. It consists of eleven paintings, 32 pages from sketchbooks, 15 ink brush drawings, 17 pastel and chalk drawings, 14 woodcuts, 14 etchings and 8 lithographies. The work deals with the Berlin of the early 20th century and how it is developing into a metropolis. A lot of "Koketten" are depicted as a metaphor for the hectic pace and sensuality of the growing city. There are also a lot of references to be found in the cycle.

Paintings

The paintings are the central part of the work of art. The first painting is "Five women on the street". The dynamic in the composition increased during the period of origin. Style elements of futurism but also elements of Mannerism can also be found. The paintings were mostly finished in 1914. Some of them were finished in 1915 and others in the 1920s.
PaintingTitle and additional informationProvenance
Five women on the street
1915, oil on canvas,
126 × 90 cm
It is the first painting of the cycle and shows five prostitutes standing on the path walk.		Museum Ludwig, cologne
It was bought by the Folkwang Museum in Essen in 1926, was confiscated on 6 July 1937 in the course of the "Degenerated Art" program. It was shown from November 1937 in the abusive exhibition of the same name. After that it was stored in the Schönhausen Palace as an "internationally sellable" work of art. In March 1940 it arrived at Ferdinand Möller's gallery in Berlin. In 1947 it came to Günther Franke's gallery in Munich. There it was sold to the art collector Josef Haubrich who donated it to the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. In 1976 it was transferred to the Museum Ludwig.
Berlin street scene
1913/1914, oil on canvas,
121 × 95 cm		Neue Galerie New York
The painting gained public attention during the dispute over the restitution in 2006. It had belonged to the Jewish art collector Alfred Hess until his death. In 1936 the painting was transferred by his widow Tekla Hess to the art association cologne. There it was sold to the art collector Carl Hagemann under unclear circumstances. The heirs of Hagemann gave the painting to Ernst Holzinger in 1948. In 1980 the widow of Holzinger sold the painting to the city of Berlin, which exhibited it in the Brücke Museum. In 2006 the city of Berlin returned the painting in accordance the "Washington declaration" to the heirs of Hess. This declaration said that art that was taken from Jewish families during the nazi era should be returned to their heirs. However this declaration is not legally binding. In the same year the painting was sold at the auction house Christie's for 30 million Euros. The new owner is the New Gallery in New York.
The street
1913, oil on canvas,
120,6 × 91,1 cm		Museum of Modern Art, New York
The painting was bought in 1920 by the Berlin National gallery and exhibited in the Kronprinzenpalais. It was confiscated in 1937 in the course of the "degenerated art" program by the Nazis. It was stored in the Schönhausen castle from 1938 onwards. In February 1939 it was sold by the art dealer Karl Buchholz to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Streetscene Berlin
1913, oil on canvas,
69,9 × 50,8 cm		Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Streetscene
1914/1922, oil on canvas,
70 × 48 cm		Private owner, Switzerland
Street scene with red "Kokette"
1914/1925, oil on canvas,
120 × 90 cm		Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, Madrid
Friedrichstraße Berlin
1914, oil on canvas,
125 × 91 cm		Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart
Leipziger Straße with electrical railway
1914, oil on canvas,
69,5 × 79 cm		Museum Folkwang, Essen
Two women on the street
1914, oil on canvas,
120,5 × 91 cm		Art collection Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
1914, oil on canvas,
200 × 150 cm		Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
Women on the street
1915, Oil on canvas,
126 × 90 cm		Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal

Graphics

Literature