Self-Portrait as a Soldier
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. 1915 C.E. German. Oil on canvas
Documents the artist's fear that the war would destroy his creative powers and in a broader sense symbolizes the reactions of the artists of his generation who suffered the kind of physical and mental damage Kirchner envisaged in this painting.
Content:
Kirchner depicts himself in the uniform of the Mansfelder Feldartillerieregiment Nr. 75 in
Halle/Saale. His face is drawn, a cigarette hangs loosely from between his lips, and his eyes
remain unseeing and empty, without pupils and with the iris reflecting the blue of his uniform.
The lost right hand and bloody stump stand for a terrible litany of losses: of his ability to paint,
and of his creativity, artistic vision, and inspiration. In a larger sense, Kirchner also expresses
anxiety for his potency and manhood
Context:
o fear that the war would destroy his creative powers and in a broader sense symbolizes the
reactions of the artists of his generation who suffered the kind of physical and mental damage
Kirchner envisaged in this painting
o he became an alcoholic and in 1917 began to suffer from paralysis of the hands and feet and
continued to paint – but as a recluse
Form:
There is little compositional connection between the artist and the nude woman seen behind
him
o Bold expressive colors, some modeling of the forms, no sense of deep space
Function – see context/content
