Provenance:
The artist’s studio, Davos (until his death in 1938)
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s widow, Erna Kirchner (until her death in 1945)
Kirchner Estate, 1945 to the present (on loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel from 1946 to 1954; from 1954 at the Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett Roman Norbert Ketterer; since 2002 in the possession of his descendants)
Exhibitions/Literature:
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Photoalbum II, Photo 173
Donald E. Gordon: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Mit einem kritischen Katalog sämtlicher Gemälde, Munich/Cambridge (Mass.), 1968, pp. 106, 334, cat. no. 415, ill. p. 334
Volker Wahl: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner und Jena – Ein Beitrag zur Biographie des Künstlers anlässlich seines 100. Geburtstags, Berlin, 1980, p. 481
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – Von Jena nach Davos. Exhibition on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Jena Art Association, Stadtmuseum Göhre, Jena, 1993–1994, cat. no. 7, ill. p. 128 (not exhibited)
Volker Wahl: Von Jena nach Davos – Stationen eines Künstlerlebens, in: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – Von Jena nach Davos. Exhibition on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Jena Art Association, Stadtmuseum Göhre, Jena, 1993, pp. 21–39, p. 24
Thomas Röske: Dokumente einer Freundschaft – Botho Graef und Hugo Biallowons auf Bildern Ernst Ludwig Kirchners, in: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – Von Jena nach Davos. Exhibition on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Jena Art Association, Stadtmuseum Göhre, Jena, 1993, pp. 40–48, pp. 43–44
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta, Milan, 2002, cat. no. 62, ill. p. 103
1914! Lavanguardia y la Gran Guerra, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2008–2009, cat. no. 115, ill. p. 242
Sharon Jordan: Philosophers, Artists and Saints: Ernst L. Kirchner and Male Friendship in Paintings, 1914–1917, The City University of New York, 2009, ill. p. 329
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid, 2012, cat. no. 64, ill. p. 175
Der ewige Wanderer – Henry van de Velde in Jena, Städtisches Museum, Jena, 2013, cat. no. I/8, ill. p. 143
Weltenbruch: Die Künstler der Brücke im Ersten Weltkrieg. 1914–1918, Brücke-Museum, Berlin, 2014, cat. no. 82, ill. p. 74
Es gibt nur ein Programm: Freiheit! Kirchner, Nolde, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Amiet und Hodler. Zum 100. Todestag von Botho Graef, Kunstsammlungen, Jena, 2017, cat. no. 59, ill. p. 82
Grossstadtrausch / Naturidyll. Kirchner – Die Berliner Jahre, Kunsthaus, Zurich, 2017, cat. no. 58, ill. p. 207
Volker Wahl: Botho Graef in Jena. Gelehrter und Kunstfreund, Jena, 2021, ill. p. 117
The ‘Portrait Hugo’ was painted in 1914 and depicts the forest ranger and dancer Hugo Biallowons (1879-1916), whom Ernst Ludwig Kirchner met through the archaeologist and art historian Botho Graef. The subject is depicted in half-profile, his gaze directed slightly into the distance. With his characteristic angular forms, a free brushstroke and the contrasting shades of green, blue and violet against a bright yellow background, Kirchner created an expressive portrait that goes far beyond a mere representation of the subject.
In 1914, Hugo Biallowons belonged to the artist’s close circle of friends and sat for him on several occasions. He also appears, amongst other works, in the painting ‘Tänzer zwischen zwei Frauen’. A photograph taken by Kirchner shows Botho Graef and Hugo Biallowons together in front of the painting ‘Badende im Raum’, documenting the close bond between the artist and his subjects.
With the death of Hugo Biallowons in the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and that of Botho Graef a few months later, Kirchner lost two of his closest confidants. These personal tragedies struck him at a time of mounting psychological strain during the First World War and exacerbated a crisis that ultimately led to his breakdown and prolonged stays in sanatoriums. Nevertheless, some of the most significant works in his oeuvre were created during these years. The ‘Portrait of Hugo’ is a tribute to a close friend and ranks among the most striking portraits from this period, which had such a formative influence on Kirchner.
