Bay on the Coast of Fehmarn, 1913

About the Work

"Ochre, blue and green are the colours of Fehmarn, wonderful coastal formations, sometimes as opulent as those of the South Seas." Kirchner enthusiastically described the landscape of this Baltic island, which in the years before the First World War served as his paradisiacal retreat from hectic big-city life in Berlin. Behind the Staberhuk lighthouse, where the artist lived during his visits, the coastal cliffs descend to a broad beach with large erratic boulders. In his picture Kirchner transforms the stretch of coastline into a steep, dynamic curve which corresponds with the curved line of the horizon.