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拍品专文
The nude human figure was for Heckel and his fellow artists of Die Brücke a potent symbol of a state of innocence and naturalness that they wished to use their art to exalt. The turn of the century had seen a vogue of Freikörperkultur (Free Body Culture) in Germany, a movement which emphasized the health benefits of nudist activity within nature. After years working both alone and together directly from nature in the open air around the lakes at Moritzburg and at various towns on the Baltic coast, the subject of bathers in nature had become a staple of Die Brücke art. As in his scenes of nudes in landscape settings painted by the Moritzburg Lakes, Heckel’s pre-war compositions of naked bathers enjoying the water and sand of a beach express the artist’s wish to return man to an ideal state of connection with his inner self and the natural environment.
Following the war, Heckel’s style undergoes a radical shift. As Janina Dahlmanns has explained, "right after the war the bathers returned to Heckel' s repertoire of motifs. As far as the colours are concerned, it becomes obvious how much the figures blend in with the background and the palette of the landscape elements. The bathing people are perfectly integrated into nature, become a part of it" (Im Zentrum des Expressionismus Erwerbungen und Ausstellungen des Brücke-Museums Berlin, 1988-2013, exh. cat., Brücke-Museum, Berlin, 2013, p. 289). Painted in 1919, the present work demonstrates the artist’s continued exploration of the bather subject. As compared to earlier depictions, however, the figures now embody the trauma of the war years and the uncertainties of the postwar period. What was previously a scene of health and rigour, the bodies of the figures are now skeletal. In Knaben am Strand the bodies inhabit the space like ghosts, looking at one another, but isolated and disengaged. The standing figure covers his torso, as if in a state of shame.
These two bathers no longer represent the carefree liveliness of the pre-war period. Rather, they are tired, defeated, and unable to engage with the natural environment which surrounds them, a resulting tragedy of the great War.
Following the war, Heckel’s style undergoes a radical shift. As Janina Dahlmanns has explained, "right after the war the bathers returned to Heckel' s repertoire of motifs. As far as the colours are concerned, it becomes obvious how much the figures blend in with the background and the palette of the landscape elements. The bathing people are perfectly integrated into nature, become a part of it" (Im Zentrum des Expressionismus Erwerbungen und Ausstellungen des Brücke-Museums Berlin, 1988-2013, exh. cat., Brücke-Museum, Berlin, 2013, p. 289). Painted in 1919, the present work demonstrates the artist’s continued exploration of the bather subject. As compared to earlier depictions, however, the figures now embody the trauma of the war years and the uncertainties of the postwar period. What was previously a scene of health and rigour, the bodies of the figures are now skeletal. In Knaben am Strand the bodies inhabit the space like ghosts, looking at one another, but isolated and disengaged. The standing figure covers his torso, as if in a state of shame.
These two bathers no longer represent the carefree liveliness of the pre-war period. Rather, they are tired, defeated, and unable to engage with the natural environment which surrounds them, a resulting tragedy of the great War.