Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: The Artist as Photographer

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 – 1938), like many of his contemporaries was fascinated by the possibilities of photography and used it in different ways. In his work there is a clearly visible interaction between photography and the visual arts, so that one can speak of an almost “photographic image view”. The catalog brings together a selection of over 100 photographic works and presents examples from all genres in which Kirchner has operated: from files and studio scenes and portraits to landscapes and property photographs. The artist put on even inventories of paintings and sculptures and supplemented these with photographs of his works. Moreover, he documented exhibition situations and hangings of his paintings. Although Kirchner is not understood as a fine arts photographer, he nevertheless exploited the possibilities of the photographic medium from peripherally. The photograph was an instrument of artistic discovery and invention for him.