Pirouetting Dancer c. 1931 - 1932

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this watercolour, 'Pirouetting Dancer', using broad strokes and a washed-out palette. I can almost feel Kirchner’s hand as he worked, the brush darting across the paper, trying to capture a sense of movement. There's something really vulnerable about putting yourself in front of a blank sheet of paper with some paints. I wonder if Kirchner felt that too? It's like you're saying, ‘Okay world, here's what I see, here's how I feel’. The dancer's limbs are elongated and almost translucent, giving a sense of lightness. The strokes are loose, not really trying to represent anything literally, but maybe hinting at a feeling, an emotion. It reminds me a little of the way Degas painted dancers. You know, capturing the fleeting moment, the ephemerality of the performance. I think artists are always in conversation with each other, even across time, riffing on each other's ideas. Kirchner is doing his own thing. For me, painting is about embracing that uncertainty, that ambiguity. It's about allowing for multiple interpretations, and knowing there isn't just one way to see or experience something.