Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Tanz im Varieté

Tanz im Varieté by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) has been part of the Im Obersteg collection since June 2024. The painting was considered lost for almost a century, when its existence was only documented by black-and-white photographs. The work was created in 1911 as one of the last works in Dresden before Kirchner moved to the German capital, Berlin.

Here Kirchner painted the cakewalk, a dance that became popular in Europe from 1900. It was created during the time of slavery in the USA to parody the dances of white culture. In the northern states, the dance was adopted by minstrel shows, in which white people performed in blackface. The cakewalk thus became a parody of the African Americans who had developed it. It was not until the turn of the century that Black dancers were allowed to perform this dance on theater stages. Performances soon took place throughout Europe, and the cakewalk found its way onto Kirchner’s canvas in Tanz im Varieté.

Dance, vaudeville, and the circus form an important cluster of motifs in Kirchner’s oeuvre. Kirchner sought his inspiration in life, in encounters between people on the street, or in vaudeville. The moving bodies of dancers appear elegant and dignified and serve as projection surfaces for the fashion and movements of their time. Kirchner uses these bodies to show the hopes and failures of a society in transition.

The work had previously been exhibited twice: in 1912, one year after its creation, as part of the first and last group exhibition of Die Brücke artists’ group in Berlin, and in 1923 in a solo exhibition dedicated to Kirchner at the Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer. It then came into the possession of a family in Baden-Württemberg via the Max Glaeser Collection.

The work remained there until its rediscovery in 2024, when its striking color scheme was revealed. With the purchase in June 2024, the Im Obersteg Foundation came into possession of a painting from the “best Brücke period,” whose motif has captured the ravages of its time. In its mania, Tanz im Varieté precedes Kirchner’s famous Berlin street scenes, which were created from 1913 onwards.

Provenance

- In the artist's studio in Davos until at least 1923
- Acquired by the Max Glaeser Collection (1871-1931), Kaiserslautern-Eselsfürth, between 1928 and 1931
- Passed into the collection of Anna Glaeser, born Opp. (1864-1944), Kaiserslautern-Eselsfürth, by inheritance in 1931
- Acquired in 1944 by a private collection in Baden-Württemberg from the estate of the aforementioned. Brokered by Dr. Lilli Fischel and Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
- Purchased from Ketterer Kunst by the Im Obersteg Foundation on June 2024

Literature

Donald E. Gordon, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Mit einem kritischen Katalog sämtlicher Gemälde, München/Cambridge (Mass.) 1968, WVZ-Nr. 196 (m. d. Titel „Steptanz“, m. SW-Abb., S. 302)

Karl Scheffler, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, in: Kunst und Künstler. Illustrierte Monatsschrift für bildende Kunst und Kunstgewerbe, Nr. XVIII/5, Heft 5, 1920, S. 219 (m. SW-Abb., S. 219).

Annemarie Dube-Heynig, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Postkarten und Briefe an Erich Heckel im Altonaer Museum in Hamburg, Köln 1984, S. 252 (m. d. Titel „Steptanz“, m. SW-Abb.).

Johanna Brade, Die Zirkus- und Varietébilder der „Brücke (1905-1913): Zwischen Bildexperiment und Gesellschaftskritik. Zu Themenwahl und Motivgestaltung (Diss.), Berlin 1993, Kat.-Nr. 75.

Lothar Grisebach (Hrsg.), Ernst Ludwig Kirchners Davoser Tagebuch, Ostfildern 1997, S. 337 u. 339 (Fotografien, m. d. Titel „Stepptanz“).

Roland Scotti (Hrsg.), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Das fotografische Werk, Wabern/ Bern 2005, S. 117 (Fotografie).

Hans Delfs (Hrsg.), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Der gesamte Briefwechsel („Die absolute Wahrheit, so wie ich sie fühle“), Zürich 2010, Nr. 1193 u. 1440 (hier falsch zugeordnet).

Thorsten Sadowsky (Hrsg.), Ausst.-Kat. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Der Künstler als Fotograf, Kirchner Museum Davos, 22.11.2015-1.5.2016, S. 44, 66, 76, 82 u. 150 (Fotografien).

Thorsten Sadowsky (Hrsg.), Louis de Marsalle. Visite à Davos, Heidelberg 2018 (m. d. Titel „Stepptanz“, m. SW-Abb., S. 11, Nr. 2).

Thorsten Sadowsky, „Und der Bauchtanz ging den ganzen Vormittag“. Ernst Ludwig Kirchners Davoser Tänze, in: KirchnerHAUS Aschaffenburg / Brigitte Schad (Hrsg.), Ausst.-Kat. Kirchners Kosmos: Der Tanz, KirchnerHAUS Aschaffen burg, München 2018, S. 41 (m. d. Titel „Stepptanz“, m. SW-Abb., S. 42, Nr. 4).

ARCHIVALIEN: Künzig, Dr. Brunner, Dr. Koehler Rechtsanwälte, Mannheim (Nachlassverwaltung Glaeser): Angebot von Gemälden aus Sammlung Max Glaeser, 1931, Archiv des Kunstmuseums Basel, Signatur F 001.024.010.000: „Varietészene“.

Galerie Buck, Mannheim: Angebot Gemälde u. a. von Arnold Böcklin, Lovis Corinth, Anselm Feuerbach, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Hans von Marées, Edvard Munch, Heinrich von Zügel, Sammlung Max Glaeser, 1932, Archiv des Kunstmu seums Basel, Signatur F 001.025.002.000: „Variete“ (sic).

Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf, Bestand: 0-1-4 Stadtverwaltung Düsseldorf von 1933-2000 (alt: Bestand IV), Angebote und Ankäufe, Sign. 3769.0000, fol. 175-177.

Nachlass Donald E. Gordon, University of Pittsburgh, Gordon Papers, Series 1, Subseries 1, Box 1, Folder 197.

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