Elbzillenschlepper. 1910.
Woodcut.
Inscribed "I". Verso with the estate stamp of the Kunstmuseum Basel (Lugt 1570 b) and the hand-written registration number "H 141 I". One of just two known copies and the only known copy from the first state. On wove paper. 27 x 36 cm (10.6 x 14.1 in). Sheet: 29,6 x 40,5 cm (11,6 x 15,9 in).
[CH].

- From the sought-after Dresden "Brücke" period.
- One of only two known copies of this woodcut and the only known copy from the first printing state.
- This is the first time a copy of this woodcut is offered on the international auction market (source: Gercken catalogue raisonné and artprice.com).
- Kirchner reduces the typical Dresden motif of a tugboat on the Elbe to a few clear lines and small areas of color and cleverly uses the blank space for his composition.

PROVENANCE: 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: Gustav Schiefler, Die Graphik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, vol. 2 (1917-1927), Berlin 1931, no. H 141.
Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, E. L. Kirchner. Das graphische Werk, Munich 1967, no. H 165.
Günther Gercken, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kritisches Werkverzeichnis der Druckgraphik, vol. 1 (1904-1908, no. 1-272), Bern 2013, no. 428 I (of II).
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Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Die Maler der Brücke. Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Stuttgart 1995, p. 149, SHG no. 142 (illu.).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 318, SHG no. 714 (illu.).

In good condition. Slight handling marks, creases and signs of rubbing in the edges, partly from the making.