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This is a drawing of a stylized, abstract scene with a figure and landscape elements. The image is composed of bold, clean lines likely created through a woodcut technique. In the center is a prominent figure walking across the scene. The background contains several elements such as a large arch or rainbow-like shape and a winding path, along with abstract representations of nature, like plants and perhaps a mountain. The composition suggests a blend of human and natural forms into an artistic narrative. The text included at the top and below the image provides context written in German, which mentions Georg Heym and provides biographical information.
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This is a drawing of a stylized, abstract scene with a figure and landscape elements. The image is composed of bold, clean lines likely created through a woodcut technique. In the center is a prominent figure walking across the scene. The background contains several elements such as a large arch or rainbow-like shape and a winding path, along with abstract representations of nature, like plants and perhaps a mountain. The composition suggests a blend of human and natural forms into an artistic narrative. The text included at the top and below the image provides context written in German, which mentions Georg Heym and provides biographical information.

National Gallery of Art · Volume

Akt vor Landschaft (Nude in the Landscape) (headpiece, page 63) from Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: The Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Date
1924
Medium
woodcut from a bound volume with 50 woodcuts (including cover and front and back endpapers) on wove paper
Dimensions
book: 23.8 × 16.5 × 1.2 cm (9 3/8 × 6 1/2 × 1/2 in.)
Classification
Volume · Print
Accession number
2012.92.41.49
Credit line
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Time span
1901 to 1925
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record

Subjects and terms

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

(Sotheby's New York, November 14, 1985, lot 67); Ruth Cole Kainen [1922-2009], Washington, D.C. (Lugt 4739); gift to NGA, 2012.

NGA object ID 227805. 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.