Estate of the Artist
Ernesto F. Blohm, Germany (acquired by 1969)
Thence by descent to the present owner in 1986

Stuttgart, Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Graphik, 1954, no. 1357
Bielefeld, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner aus Privatbesitz, 1969, no. 46, illustrated in the catalogue
Hamburg, Kunstverein & Frankfurt, Kunstverein, E. L. Kirchner: Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik, 1969, no. 69, illustrated in the catalogue
Munich, E. L. Kirchner Privatsammlung, 1970, no. 18, illustrated in the catalogue
Zurich, Museum Rietberg und Museum der Weltkulturen, E. L. Kirchner und die Kunst Kameruns, 2008, no. 14, illustrated in the catalogue

Wolfgang Henze, Die Plastik Ernst Ludwig Kichners. Monographie mit Werkverzeichnis, Bern, 2002, no. 53, illustrated in colour p. 90

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount at the upper two corners and floating in the mount. All four edges are slightly unevenly cut. There is a tear to the centre of the right edge (approx. 1.5cm long), and three smaller tears along the left edge. There are two holes to the centre of the upper edge, probably originally associated with previous artist's pin-holes. The sheet is slightly time-stained and there are some faint spots of foxing in places. There is a probable studio stain to the upper right corner and there are a few flattened creases, predominately to the corners. This work is in overall good condition.
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Mädchen sitzend auf einem afrikanischen Schemel is a delightfully evocative depiction of the principal themes and subjects that excited the mind and eye of the artist. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's model, with her stylised hair, is perched upon an African stool, enveloped by the exotic paraphernalia of his studio. Kirchner had a penchant for collecting unique and unusual objects and materials, often using those that most piqued his interest as a fascinating back drop to his life drawings. Describing the artist’s Berlin studio, Jill Lloyd noted: 'By covering his dingy studio with exotic decorations, piercing its confines with a mirror or doorway, or pinning a freshly painted canvas to its grey walls, Kirchner did more than imaginatively expand the physical limits of the place. As time progressed, the works of art which reappear in his studio compositions as pictures within pictures enabled Kirchner to transcend the mundane reality of the room to reveal a symbolic or metaphysical realm where the relationship between art and life could be called into question' (Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: The Dresden and Berlin Years (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003, p. 15).

Since the early Die Brücke years, Kirchner was fascinated with the subject of the human figure. As was the case with most of the female figures that appear in Kirchner's works of this period, the model in the present work is most likely his companion, Doris 'Dodo' Grosse, a Dresden milliner who was recognisable by the dark coiffure and hats that she often wore. The dynamic of the present composition is derived from the contrast between the areas of solid colour and the free-flowing, spontaneous lines. The central figure of the woman, occupying the entire sheet, attests to the confidence and technical mastery Kirchner had achieved by this time. Kirchner embraces a bold Expressionistic and avant-garde aesthetic, flattening his picture plane with a characteristic deftness of line and a keen eye for colour. The stylistic shift which had taken place during the formative years of Die Brücke, was certainly inspired by Kirchner's first-hand experience of Van Gogh's art, exhibited in Dresden in 1905. He and his fellow artists had also had the opportunity to see works by Gauguin, Munch and the Fauve painters. Of particular influence, however, were the brightly coloured canvases by Matisse, whose vivid palette and disregard for naturalistic representation had a lasting effect on Kirchner's œuvre, the beginning of which is palpable in the present work.