Dance Training

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

1910–11 (altered 1920)

Oil on canvas

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Two women are depicted in an intimate pose on a patterned rug. One woman is nude, while the other wears a blue dress and black stockings. The many nudes in Kirchner's works reflect his interest in sexual freedom and the contemporary cults of nudity and athleticism. He also frequently used the dance atelier to symbolize his own studio, a communal workshop for members of The Bridge (Die Brücke). By combining nude figures with studio settings, Kirchner evoked the frank spontaneity and bohemian sensuality so admired by all the Brücke painters. Gallery G371 Gift of Mrs. Charles Meech