This is a drawing of an abstract scene along with text. The image contains a black and white illustration above a poem or text titled "Der Krieg." The drawing features an abstract arrangement of figures and forms blending into one another, with dynamic elements suggesting movement. Below the illustration, the text is laid out in stanzas and is in German. The composition likely aims to evoke themes related to conflict, upheaval, or internal struggles. The use of black and white enhances the stark nature of the themes presented.
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Der Krieg (The War) (headpiece, page 3) from Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (German, 1880 - 1938)

and author Georg Heym (German, born Poland, 1887 - 1912)

printer Spamersche Buchdruckerei, Leipzig

publisher Kurt Wolff (German, 1887 - 1963)

1924

Medium
woodcut from a bound volume with 50 woodcuts (including cover and front and back endpapers) on wove paper
Classification
Volume
Dimensions
book: 23.8 × 16.5 × 1.2 cm (9 3/8 × 6 1/2 × 1/2 in.)
Culture
German
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CG-W
Credit line
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art