Erich Heckel

Heckel was a key member of the Brücke (Bridge) group of German Expressionist artists. The double date on this drawing--1914/1917--suggests that it was begun before Heckel entered military service in 1914 and completed upon his return to Berlin in 1917. The emphatic black outline and coarse application of color are in keeping with his prewar style. In contrast to many depictions of nudes by the Brücke artists, in which models are represented outdoors, moving about in a natural setting--a subject Heckel himself often treated--the subject here is depicted indoors and still. Her closed eyes and crouched position vest her with a spiritual dimension, a symbolic meaning beyond the representation of the body. This sense of interiority is an important characteristic of German expressionism, for which art had more to do with the expression of sensations and emotions than with the representation of the visual world.