Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Peter Schlemihl´s Wondrous Story

Widely considered one of the major works of Expressionist printmaking, this series of spectacular woodcuts by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is presented for the first time in a comprehensive study, specifically designed to allow readers a full understanding of the artist´s achievement. Arguably the greatest of the German Expressionists, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner´s numerous paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings are loved for their bold colors and dynamics. An admirer of Albrecht Dürer´s woodcuts, Kirchner sought to revitalize the technique for his generation, using a pictorial vocabulary that inspired other Expressionists. This volume presents one of Kirchner´s most important woodcuts series, based on the legend of Faust. Carved during a stay in a sanatorium near Frankfurt, these woodcuts reflect Kirchner´s own tortuous emotions as he tells the story of a man who sells his shadow to the devil. This gorgeous edition features several foldout pages that allow readers to compare and contrast each full-page segment. This book also explores Kirchner´s innovative printmaking technique, which involved sawed up plates stained in monotype style. Essays by Kirchner scholars discuss the series´s vital contribution to the artist´s oeuvre, while exploring his extraordinary use of color, line, and shape to tell a story that is at once universal and highly personal.