# Wrestlers in a Circus

**Ernst Ludwig Kirchner** (German, 1880–1938)  
1909  
oil on canvas  
Framed: 107.5 x 121 x 7 cm (42 5/16 x 47 5/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 80.5 x 94 cm (31 11/16 x 37 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.49. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.49).

## About this work

Locked in a dangerous embrace, beefy wrestlers writhe on a brightly colored mat. Famous for his scenes of urban life, Kirchner uses loose brushstrokes to capture the blur of bodies in motion. Imagine watching this intense match, surrounded by screaming spectators.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painted this in 1909, aged 29. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [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: Painting
- Culture: Germany, 20th century
- The artist was 29
- Real size: about 32 × 37 in (81 × 94 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- 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/662.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/662/1920.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; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

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/wrestlers-in-a-circus-cma-142792).