Dodo with a Japanese Umbrella 1909

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner likely made this color woodcut, Dodo with a Japanese Umbrella, in Dresden, Germany sometime before World War One. It depicts a woman, likely a prostitute, sitting beneath a Japanese umbrella. Kirchner was a member of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke, or 'The Bridge', whose mission was to bridge the gap between academic art and modern life. The Brücke artists embraced printmaking for its accessibility, and they were inspired by the bold colors and flattened perspective of Japanese prints. Here, Kirchner uses a crude, deliberately unrefined style, to depict a figure on the margins of society. In its day, this would have been a challenge to the prevailing norms. To understand the image fully, scholars might investigate how the avant-garde in Germany was engaging with non-western art forms, and how its members were challenging the conservative artistic establishment. Ultimately, the meaning of this print is contingent on its historical context.