AMSTERDAM.- Thanks to the generous support of the Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has been able to restore one of the masterpieces by German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in its collection. This is one of the most important works - Nacktes Mädchen Hinter Vorhang (Fränzi) - in the Stedelijk’s collection of German Expressionists and is now again on display in the collection presentation Yesterday Today – Collection Until 1950.

Rein Wolfs, director Stedelijk Museum: “Restoring a work like this is time-consuming, intensive, and also extremely costly. We are deeply grateful to the Bank of America for their support and the opportunity to carry out this restoration thanks to their generous Art Conservation Project. This Kirchner is an important work in the Stedelijk’s collection of German Expressionism, and we are delighted to be able to once more include it in our collection presentation.”

Andrea Sullivan, International Executive; Head of Social and Environment group at Bank of America: “Through the Bank of America Art Conservation Project, we identify treasured artwork that need restoration. Since the Project’s inception in 2010, 275 grants have been awarded in 40 countries to conserve paintings, sculptures, works on paper, manuscripts and archaeological pieces. Working with the Stedelijk Museum to conserve this phenomenal masterpiece by Kirchner has been an honour. We look forward to seeing it back on show and are delighted that future generations will be able to access and enjoy it for many years to come.”

RESEARCH INTO KIRCHNER’S PAINT

The painting’s fragile condition, which had been a concern for the museum for a while, is related to the materials Kirchner used: the artist experimented a lot with his paints in order to achieve his desired matte surface. For instance, he reduced the oil medium in his tube oil paints, adding wax and turpentine. Consequently, the paint’s low oil content makes it brittle and less adherent to the coarse jute canvas. Over the past decades, this has caused small pieces of paint to flake off. In the summer of 2024, the Stedelijk conducted an in-depth investigation into the condition of the painting’s paint layer and Kirchner’s technique. This confirmed that the artist worked on the painting twice: in 1910 and again in 1926.

THE RESTORATION

During the restoration process, all areas of paint loss were identified, and any loose paint was carefully consolidated with an adhesive — as matte as possible, with no gloss or saturation, so as to remain aesthetically close to the original surface. In the fall of 2024, the areas of paint loss were filled in one by one — a process that took months. First, each loss was filled, using a binder mixed with chalk. This white filling clearly showed just how many losses there were. This was followed by retouching in the correct color, a process that was recently completed. Several preventive measures, such as a climate frame, now ensure that the painting will remain stable for decades to come.

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

The Stedelijk houses an important collection of German expressionism, including works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), one of the founders of Die Brücke, a group of expressionists formed in Dresden. These artists rejected the idea of objective reality taught in the academies. By contrast, the impressionists—also seeking to break free from academic painting—focus on the impression, the moments of everyday life, while the expressionists strive to capture the human experience, and project their thoughts and emotions onto the world. They often use a high-keyed color palette, hard lines, and exaggerated forms, often inspired by art from Africa and Oceania exhibited in Europe during colonial rule and collected by artists.

Kirchner’s 1910/26 Nacktes Mädchen Hinter Vorhang (Fränzi) depicts Fränzi, his young female model, in his studio, which was adorned with his handmade furniture, paintings, drawings, and wall hangings. In 2021, the exhibition Kircher and Nolde: Expressionism. Colonialism further explored the context in which this work was made and what could be seen in it.

The painting was purchased for the collection by Willem Sandberg in 1955, who had staged ambitious exhibitions on German expressionism at the Stedelijk in 1949 and 1951. With this, the Stedelijk set the tone not only in the Netherlands but also internationally for the postwar reappraisal of these artists, after their defamation by the Nazi-regime, who declared them ‘entartet’. (source: Carolien Roodenburg-Schadd, Expressie en ordening. Het verzamelbeleid van Willem Sandberg voor het Stedelijk Museum, 1945-1962, 2004)