Free shipping on every order · 3+ prints, 10% off automatically · Made to order worldwide
Shop / Wrestlers in a Circus
Exhibition poster

Wrestlers in a Circus

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

1909 · Oil on canvas · Cleveland Museum of Art

Size2:3 ratio
Will it fit? See it to scale above your sofa, bed or mantel
Frame
$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two
3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping
Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper
Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days
Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free
Secure checkout via Stripe

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
• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or dark wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen
Shipping & returns
Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.
Is Wrestlers in a Circus in the public domain?
Yes. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) died more than 70 years ago and the work was made and first published more than 95 years ago, so the painting itself is public domain in the US and Europe. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.
What is it printed on?
Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.
When was Wrestlers in a Circus painted, and in what medium?
Wrestlers in a Circus dates from 1909 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 80.5 × 94 cm.
What size works above a sofa or bed?
Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Wrestlers in a Circus we'd choose 24×36.
About this design
A museum-exhibition poster of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Wrestlers in a Circus, 1909, shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Die Brücke and German Expressionism, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or dark wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.
Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.
Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.
Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.
Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.
Also available as

A fine-art print

The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.

Fine artWrestlers in a Circus — framed in a gallery setting
Wrestlers in a Circus
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
from $39 · free shipping
Related collections
Symbolist & Expressionist PaintingsPaintings of Everyday LifeExhibition PostersFamous Painting PrintsLiving Room Wall Art & PrintsLarge & Oversized Prints (24×36)All collections →
More by this artist

More by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

View all 4 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner →

More like this

Related Fine Art