Czardas dancers

The artists of Die Brücke reacted against narrative realism and Impressionism by seeking to achieve a new and emotionally expressive form of art. The most famous of them was Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Through his fascination with the primitive and his belief that dancing put people in touch with their basic urges, dancing figures became a recurring theme in his work. This painting is a real climax in his treatment of this theme. Sensual, direct and dynamic, it defies all taboos. The picture represents a scene of modern, urban life and is constructed of large colour planes which both contrast and merge together. It was probably painted in 1908 but Kirchner returned to it in 1920, bringing new insights to bear by filling in originally unpainted areas with bright hues.