Three Nudes in Forest

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, leader of the German Expressionist artists’ group Die Brücke (The Bridge), considered the nude to be “the basis of all fine art.” Seeking a primitive oneness with nature, he and his friends spent summers living at the lakes near Dresden. There, they shed their clothing, played in the water, moved freely amid surrounding trees and grasses and captured their experiences in drawings, woodcuts and paintings.

Twenty years later, while living near Davos, Switzerland, Kirchner made this print. The f luid lines of the figures, their relaxed postures and the sunlight that warms their bodies, all contribute to a sense of ease. The slightly off-register, layered colors, each printed with a separate wood block, animate the image.