Japanese Theatre

painter: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (German, 1880-1938)
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Alternative Title
Japanisches Theater
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/52377
Date
1909
Description
This is one of Kirchner's first paintings to depict a stage scene. It shows actors from a Japanese theatre company performing at Dresden's Albert Theatre. Theatre and cabaret scenes were extremely popular among the Brücke expressionist group. The artist's unusual viewpoint, looking down on the actors from a side angle, suggests that he may have seen the play from a theatre box. Kirchner saw an exhibition of Matisse paintings in December 1908, and this painting shows the influence of Matisse's flat areas of anti-naturalistic colour.
 
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Type of Work
Oil painting
Subject
Japanese, Theaters, Expressionism (Art), Brücke (Artists’ group), Painting, German --20th century, Art, German --20th century
Rights
(c) Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Antonia Reeve Photography
Rights Statement
In the Public Domain; no use restrictions
Item is Part of
139458
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