Wrestlers in a Circus
1909 · Oil on canvas · Cleveland Museum of Art
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About this work
- Artist
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938)
- Year
- 1909
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 80.5 × 94 cm
- Collection
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Movement
- Expressionism
Two wrestlers lock together on a patterned mat, one in pink flesh tones bent double with his head down, the other in a blue costume bearing down on him; dark spectators lean over the ring behind, and the colours are raw orange, yellow, red and green, laid on in loose, fast strokes. Kirchner painted it in 1909 in Dresden, four years after co-founding the Brücke group there. The Cleveland Museum of Art notes the loose brushwork used to catch bodies in motion. The canvas stayed in the artist's estate after his death in 1938 and entered the Cleveland collection in 1966.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Hot orange, pink and royal blue make a loud, energetic picture for a home gym, games room or hallway. Pair it with Marc's Fighting Forms at 24×36 in a black frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Expressionism painting
- Era
- 20th century (1909)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- classic
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, home gym, living room, dining room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Wrestlers in a Circus in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Wrestlers in a Circus painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
























