Reiterin. 1932.
Woodcut.
Gercken 1698 IV (of V). Dube H 629 III. Signed, titled and inscribed "Probedruck 3. Handdruck" as well as with a dated dedication to Luise and Gustav Schiefler "Frau und Herrn Direktor Schiefler zum August 32". This is the only known copy from the fourth printing state and one of a total of eight copies of various printing states. On wove paper. 84.6 x 54.5 cm (33.3 x 21.4 in). Sheet: 94 x 65,5 cm (37 x 25,8 in).

• Remarkably large woodcut.
• Hand-printed by the artist.
• The only known copy of the fourth printing state.
• The work is mentioned by name in Kirchner's letters.
• Inscribed with a dedication to Gustav Schiefler, Hamburg judge, patron, collectzor and author of E. L. Kirchner's catalogue raisonné of graphic art, as well as to his wife Louise Schiefler.
• In August 1932 Kirchner's partner Erna Schilling visited the Schieflers in Hamburg, where she might have given them this sheet as a gift.
• A photograph the artist made in 1931 shows the equestrian Rosita Schneider from Davos (negative plate at the Kirchner-Museum, Davos).
• At the same time (1931/1932) he also made the monumental painting "Reiterin", today considered one of the highlights of his late creative period (Kirchner-Museum, Davos).
• Five of the seven known copies are museum-owned (Hamburger Kunsthalle, Städel Museum, Frankfurt a. M., Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Brücke-Museum, Berlin, Bündner Museum, Chur).

PROVENANCE: Collection of Luise (1865-1967) and Gustav Schiefler (1857-1935), Hamburg (from the artist).
Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Würzburg (with the collector's stamp, Lugt 6032).

EXHIBITION: Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 1995-2001).
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2001-2017).
Buchheim Museum, Bernried (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2017-2022).

LITERATURE: Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Die Maler der Brücke. Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Stuttgart 1995, pp. 281 f., SHG no. 415 (fig.).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 362, SHG no. 805 (fig.).

"It is the first really large sheet of a last kind. The combination of pure lines nd surfaces."
E. L. Kirchner to Luise Schiefler about this woodcut, August 17, 1932, 600th letter, in: Wolfgang Henze, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Gustav Schiefler. Briefwechsel (1910-1935/1938), Stuttgart/Zürich 19901990, p. 687.

"The "Reiterin" simply is the inner image of an object and describes the impression everyone has when standing in front of an equestrian in bright sunlight. You always feel the same, something practical, sublime and somehow impressive."
E. L. Kirchner to Gustav Schiefler, September 3, 1932, 604th letter, in: Wolfgang Henze, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Gustav Schiefler. Briefwechsel (1910-1935/1938), Stuttgart/Zürich 19901990, p. 691.

Good overall impression. Paper minimally grayish and browned and with small crimped spots. Slightly foxed and with small stains. Ink corrosion around signature and inscriptions.