# Mountain Landscape with Fir Trees

**Ernst Ludwig Kirchner** (German, 1880–1938)  
1918/19  
graphite and brush and black ink  
Sheet: 34.6 x 50.7 cm (13 5/8 x 19 15/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963.86. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.86).

## About this work

Following his discharge from the military after a mental and physical breakdown in 1915, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner took refuge at a sanitarium near Davos, Switzerland. The alpine landscape provided a new focus for his work and became a metaphor for his spiritual regeneration. Kirchner sketched this scene with black ink swept over graphite. His viewpoint is one of self-absorption, from within the mountain range rather than from above, a subjective view with vigorous marks that imbue the scene with energy.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner drew this in 1918/19, aged about 38. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [Ernst Ludwig Kirchner](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/ernst-ludwig-kirchner)

German, 1880–1938

Kirchner studied architecture in Dresden, where in 1905 he co-founded Die Brücke with fellow students, seeking a raw, direct art of bright, unmixed colour and angular forms. After moving to Berlin in 1911 he painted the city’s streets and nightlife with nervous intensity. Military service in the First World War led to a breakdown, and from 1917 he lived in the Swiss mountains near Davos, painting the Alpine landscape. In 1937 the Nazis condemned his work as degenerate.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Culture: Germany, 20th century
- The artist was about 38
- Real size: about 14 × 20 in (35 × 51 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/653.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/653/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/mountain-landscape-with-fir-trees-cma-140070).