Sailor Saying Goodbye (Matrose sich verabschiedend)
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
German, 1880–1938
(1914)
An ink-and-crayon on paper drawing by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner that tries to freeze the raw emotional moment of a sailor saying goodbye through quick, decisive marks.
What strikes you is the energetic contrast of furious black brushstrokes and pale blue crayon underdrawing that compact two leaning figures into an intimate, almost collapsing space—his striped collar and her bowed face rendered in a single trembling gesture.
Executed around the outbreak of World War I, the work shows Kirchner’s Expressionist drive to prioritize psychological immediacy and gestural line, helping to push modern drawing toward raw, emotional figuration.
Medium
Ink and crayon on paper
Dimensions
16 7/8 x 20" (42.9 x 50.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw
Accession
103.1961
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
