Kirchner Two Women

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Upon visiting the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), I have to say the museum is beautiful and left me with a glorious and calm resonance. In the next few pages, I will go in depth on my viewing of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s expressionist painting “Two Women.” I chose this painting because of the history and meaning of expressionism. Seeing this painting in person made me feel connected to the artist’s motive to paint these women and his spiritual outlook on the world at that time, as Kirchner emphasizes, “my paintings are allegories, not portraits.” Kirchner was a part of a German expressionist movement of art established in 1905 as Die Brücke, meaning “The Bridge” in German. This period of expressionism illustrates individual emotions …show more content…

Art historians and scholars claim Kirchner’s style of painting represents, “a psychological by-product of recent urbanization.” The selection and use of particular colors is a strong element in Kirchner’s art. The depiction of color as an element in German expressionism stems from the art movement of fauvism, moreover, scholars’ suggestion of fauvism is that, “the artist’s direct experience of his subjects, his emotional response to nature, and his intuition were all more important than academic theory or elevated subject matter.” Fauvism’s influence on Kirchner embodies the purpose behind his art making and the simple, yet profound value in illustrating a documentation of one’s personal …show more content…

Kirchner’s depiction of this scene is a projection of his own reality and perspective of the world at that time, but his perception of them as individuals is shown in their facial expressions. The woman on the left seems to have a disgruntled smirk on her face, immersed in some conversation with the woman on the right who is known to be Kirchner’s friend, Doris, who is shown to be more pleasant and friendly in the painting. The contrast of the colorful background with their dark clothing symbolizes the tone of this social situation. The viewer does not know what the context of their conversation is, but it seems Kirchner is displaying a silent conflict and illustrates a sense of indifference within unity. The two women look very similar, however they are emitting completely different energies. In the background, the woman on the left has vibrant colored butterfly wings, or just some type of wings behind her, whereas the woman on the right has what appears to be a long, gray arm and hand reaching up behind her. The jagged lines Kirchner creates on the ground represents the women on the different planes of their realities, and the ever-changing, shifting waves of emotion. Lastly, there is a lightning bolt dividing them symbolizing this energy as dangerous and naturally cataclysmic. The reference of these symbols in spite of their facial expressions

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