Kirchner's traces in Davos
Art, Life, and Landscapes of an Expressionist
Following in the footsteps of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in Davos
For twenty years, the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner lived and worked in Davos. Many places and landscapes of the region are recognizable in his paintings. We'll take a walking tour and follow in Kirchner's footsteps in Davos!
When Ernst Ludwig Kirchner first traveled from Berlin to Davos for a short stay in January 1917, he had already undergone several stays in sanatoriums. He was traumatized by his service in the First World War and dependent on alcohol and sleeping pills. The art historian and author Florian Illies writes about Kirchner in his book "Love in Times of Hate":
"After all the shelling in the trenches, he could no longer bear any noise, at most cowbells, the mountain wind restlessly rustling around the house, and the distant cries of eagles circling the peaks. Here, just below the Stafelalp, above Davos, he had taken up residence in a spartan farmhouse; heavy beams encased the dark rooms […] Sometimes he went down to Davos, sat in a café as he once had in Berlin, but it was no longer the same. He drank his coffee, glanced at the newspaper once, and quickly drove back up to his mountain pasture. He was a survivor. He was out of step with the times."
Restless but productive years
From 1918 onwards, Kirchner settled permanently in Davos. The following twenty restless, painful, yet remarkably productive years ensued until his suicide on June 15, 1938. In the style of Expressionism, he drew and painted the landscapes and mountains that surrounded him. At the same time, he was deeply interested in the people of his new home. From Davos, Kirchner organized successful exhibitions in Switzerland and Europe, entertained guests, sold his works, and maintained close ties with the international art scene.
Kirchner meets Picasso at the Kirchner Museum in Davos
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's work can be discovered in rotating exhibitions at the Kirchner Museum. A particularly high-caliber exhibition runs from February 15th to May 3rd. The juxtaposition "Kirchner. Picasso" showcases over one hundred paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints by both artists.
The five most important Kirchner stations
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Stafelalp
After spending a few weeks at the Villa Pravigan in Davos in the winter of 1917, Kirchner returned in the summer and settled on the Stafelalp. Farmers graze their cattle and practice dairy farming on the small plateau above Frauenkirch. In the summers of 1917 and 1918, Kirchner stayed in the Rüesch family's hut, and in 1919 and 1920 in the hut of the Andreas Müller family.
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E.L. Kirchner
Running Cows on the Stafelalp, 1919 (detail)
Kirchner Museum Davos, Gift of the Estate of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1992 - 02
In the larch forest, Frauenkirch
In 1918, Kirchner rented an old Walser house in the farmstead group «In den Lärchen» in Frauenkirch, which belonged to the Müller family. After receiving his residence permit for Davos, he settled there permanently. He had carpets, a printing press, paintings, and drawings brought from Berlin so he could work. He remained «In den Lärchen» for almost five years and during this time painted several important Alpine landscapes, as well as female nudes.
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E.L. Kirchner
View of the house «In den Lärchen» 1918/1923 (detail)
Kirchner Museum Davos, Gift of the Estate of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1992 - 03
Wildboden
In September 1923 – after a falling out with the Müller family – the artist and his partner Ella Schilling moved into an old Walser farmhouse on the Wildboden at the entrance to the Sertig Valley. He set up a painting studio and a printmaking workshop on the upper floor, and his sculpture studio was located in the adjacent barn. On June 15, 1938, the 58-year-old Kirchner shot himself on the Wildboden, not far from the forest cemetery where he is buried today. The threat posed by the National Socialists, who defamed his work, as well as his drug addiction and personal crises, likely contributed to his suicide.
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E.L. Kirchner
View from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's house on the Wildboden towards the meat drying plant, the power station, and the inn, 1924
Kirchner Museum Davos, Gift of the Estate of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1992 - 04
Davos
Kirchner lived among farmers, far from the resort town of Davos, but visited regularly. Among other places, he frequented the Schneider confectionery and patisserie on the promenade, now Hugo's. While drinking coffee, he sketched the other patrons. He later used his sketches as watercolors or as models for prints or oil paintings. At Villa Fontana, located at Oberen Strasse 22B, he visited Lucius Spengler and his wife Helene. The doctor had provided Kirchner with medical care and also acquired works by him. In the villa, these hung alongside paintings by Ferdinand Hodler and Giovanni Giacometti. At the town hall, Kirchner took care of his paperwork but also cultivated a friendship with Landammann Erhard Branger, an art lover. Branger helped him with transporting his art and persuaded the local politicians to purchase Kirchner's painting "Davos Town Hall Square."
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E.L. Kirchner
Davos in Winter, 1924-26
Kirchner Museum Davos, permanent loan from a private collection - 05
Sertig
Kirchner frequently hiked in the Sertigtal valley with its mountain streams and coniferous forests, where he sketched and photographed. These sketches later formed the basis of his paintings with their intense colors, created in his studio. He also dedicated a painting to Heuersonntag, which, from 1923 onwards, became the Sertigschwingfest (Swiss wrestling festival): "Wrestlers in the Mountains."
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E.L. Kirchner
Sertigtal in Autumn, 1925/26 (detail)
Kirchner Museum Davos, Gift of the Amstad Estate 2000
