Sitzender Akt mit exotischer Halskette

The female figure has been drawn and painted many times over the centuries. The members of the German Expressionist movement Die Brücke, who included Schmidt-Rottluff, along with Ernst L. Kirchner and Erich Heckel, were no exception. What was specific to their work, however, was that they no longer depicted women in restrictive corsets or as femmes fatales, as was typical until the early twentieth century. Instead, they saw women as free and independent individuals, who were also bold enough to pose naked. The flowing brushstrokes and the simplification of forms in this depiction of a female nude reinforce this new depiction of women. On their travels to Africa and Oceania – and to anthropological collections closer to home – the Expressionists often found inspiration in “primitive cultures,” as can be seen in the necklace of tigers’ teeth and the wild hair of the woman in this watercolour.