Modern Bohemia 1924

What does your perfect home look like? This satisfyingly strange oil painting by the German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) illustrates the artist’s personal vision of creative perfection. Titled ‘Modern Bohemia’, it depicts four people in a colourful yet comfortable room. Kirchner described this scene as his artistic utopia! Kirchner was a founder of the German group known as ‘Die Brücke’, or ‘The Bridge’. This was a collection of modern artists who rejected realism and preferred to express intense emotion. The group often worked together in shared studios, where they abandoned social conventions in favour of freedom and bohemianism; they stated that they wished for ‘independence from older, established forces.’ ‘Modern Bohemia’ (1924) exemplifies the bohemian lifestyle adopted by the members of The Bridge. On the left side of the canvas, a nude young woman lounges on a low chair. This casual attitude towards nudity is at odds with the social expectations of the 1920s. Here, Kirchner has used vivid, unrealistic colours. The figures are painted with bold shades of purple and green rather than natural skin colours. There is an emphasis on visual drama and emotion, as shown in the exaggerated shapes and simplified perspective. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is especially known for his tapestry-esque style. This involved a unique technique of painting with directional brushstrokes. In other words, the artist combined horizontal and vertical lines to create a textural surface. 🪡 What do you think of this painting? Does it look like somewhere you would like to live?