Tausendundeine Nacht. Zwei Geulen. 1906.
Woodcut.
Signed. One of only four known copies. On laid paper. 19 x 30.6 cm (7.4 x 12 in). Sheet: 30,2 x 35,9 cm (11,9 x 14,1 in).
[CH/AM].

• Hand-made print from the early Dresden "Brücke" period.
• One of only four known copies, one of which is in the collection of the Albertina in Vienna.
• The last time a copy of this rare woodcut was offered on the international auction market was 25 years ago (source: artprice.com).
• At this time, Kirchner created several illustrations on literary themes, including a series of seven sheets on the stories from 1001 Nights.
• Ghouls, referred to as "Geulen" by Kirchner, play a role in numerous myths and fairy tales, especially in the stories from 1001 Nights.

PROVENANCE: Galerie Remmert and Barth, Düsseldorf.
Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Würzburg (acquired from the above in 1997, with the collector's stamp, Lugt 6032)).

EXHIBITION: Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 1995-2001).
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2001-2017).
Buchheim Museum, Bernried (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2017-2022).

LITERATURE: Gustav Schiefler, Die Graphik Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, vol. 2 (1917–1927), Berlin 1931, no. H 74.
Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, E. L. Kirchner. Das graphische Werk, Munich 1967, no. H 103.
Günther Gercken, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Kritisches Werkverzeichnis der Druckgraphik, vol. 1 (1904-1908, no. 1-272), Bern 2013, no. 127.
- -
Klipstein and Kornfeld, Bern, 100th auction, May 10, 1963, lot 469 (different title).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 293, SHG no. 662 (illu.).

"What are Ghouls?"
Gustav Schiefler in a letter to E. L. Kirchner from August 18, 1918, quoted from: Wolfgang Henze (ed.), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Gustav Schiefler, Briefwechsel 1910-1935/1938, Stuttgart 1993, no. 92.

"Ghouls are corpse-eaters who, according to legend, dug up human corpses at night."
E. L. Kirchner's answer to Gustav Schiefler's letter from August 1918.

In good condition. Minimal irregular browning and faint light-staining in the margins. There also with very isolated tiny stains and adhesions, not impairing the overall impression. In the upper half of the sheet with a vertical irregularity in the paper, probably due to the production process.