Rocky Stream
Medium
lithograph printed in black
Dimensions
image: 27.5 x 32.5 cm (10 13/16 x 12 13/16 in.) sheet: 37 x 42.7 cm (14 9/16 x 16 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Accession Number
2012.92.740
Art Historical Context
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's *Rocky Stream* (1919) captures the raw power of nature through the stark drama of a black lithograph. Printed in a single bold tone, this intimate work—measuring 27.5 x 32.5 cm—showcases Kirchner's mastery of line and contrast, evoking turbulent waters rushing over jagged rocks. As a founding member of the Germanist group Die Brücke Kirchner channeled emotional intensity into his art, often distorting forms to convey inner turmoil rather than literal realism. Created just after World War I, during Kirchner's recovery in the Swiss Alps, the print reflects his shift towa...
About the Artist
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1880–1938
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born on May 6, 1880, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, to parents Ernst and Maria Kirchner, part of a family of Prussian descent that frequently relocated due to his father's career as a chemical technician. After early schooling in various towns, he studied architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Dresden from 1901 to 1905, taking courses i...