Dancing Couple c. 1914

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this pastel drawing of a dancing couple. It lives at the Städel Museum. I can almost feel Kirchner's hand moving across the paper, those swirling marks of blues and greens creating a world around the figures. There's a kind of rawness and immediacy to it, like he was trying to capture a fleeting moment, a burst of energy. What was he thinking as he put this down? Was he interested in Degas and the way he painted dancers? Was he listening to music while he drew? The way he’s rendered the ballerina upside down feels daring, like he's pushing the boundaries of representation. Maybe he was thinking about Picasso, and ways to show things from multiple perspectives at once. This piece feels like a conversation, with Kirchner talking to artists past and present, picking up on their ideas, and then adding his own unique twist. It’s this exchange, this dialogue across time, that keeps art alive and relevant.