Häuser mit Allee 1910

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this watercolor sketch called ‘Häuser mit Allee’ or ‘Houses with Alley’ using confident strokes of green and blue, set against the bare paper. I imagine Kirchner was thinking about urban environments, the tension between nature and architecture. The quick strokes suggest a fast, immediate capturing of the scene. There’s something really direct about the application of the paint. See how the buildings have been delineated by a dark line, almost like a coloring book, and then filled in with bright white or yellow and topped with sapphire roofs. It is really interesting how he’s put such a bright blue on the roofs – it's almost like a Fauvist painting, a shouty color, something really bold and clashing. This use of color and form is really in line with the broader expressionist movement. The sketch feels like it is part of an ongoing visual conversation. Artists respond and react to each other, don’t they? It’s an act of call and response across generations.