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The image displays bold, angular lines and shapes forming an abstract figure in profile outlined in black against a green and tan background. The shapes suggest familiar elements like a head and arm in a geometric style reminiscent of cubism. The composition is abstract with a feeling of depth and structure created by the black outlines and color contrast. Dark, textured areas add complexity. The text "Georg Heym Umarvitac" at the top complements the abstract aesthetic.
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The image displays bold, angular lines and shapes forming an abstract figure in profile outlined in black against a green and tan background. The shapes suggest familiar elements like a head and arm in a geometric style reminiscent of cubism. The composition is abstract with a feeling of depth and structure created by the black outlines and color contrast. Dark, textured areas add complexity. The text "Georg Heym Umarvitac" at the top complements the abstract aesthetic.

National Gallery of Art · Volume

Artist's mock-up of Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Date
1912/1922
Medium
bound volume with 51 woodcuts (including cover and front and back endpapers) on wove paper
Dimensions
book: 21.7 × 14.5 × 1.3 cm (8 9/16 × 5 11/16 × 1/2 in.)
Classification
Volume · Print
Accession number
2012.92.40.1-51
Credit line
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Time span
1901 to 1925
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record

Portfolio and series

Volume
Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: Shadow of Life)

Subjects and terms

  • German
  • woodcut
  • Shadow
  • Poetry
  • German Expressionist
Provenance

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Walter Kern [1898-1966], Winterthur (Lugt 1567a); Erna Kirchner, Kirchner's wife, acquired from Walter Kern, June 20, 1940. Hans Bolliger, Zurich (?); [1] (Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 21 June 1985, no. 104); (via Wolfgang Wittrock Kunsthandel, Düsseldorf); Ruth Cole Kainen [1922-2009], Washington, DC (Lugt 4739); gift to NGA, 2012. [1] Derived from correspondence between Ruth Kainen and Bob Rifkind, August 13, 1985, in which the former mentions the "Bollinger" collection in relation to the present object.

NGA object ID 123342. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.