The double Kirchner

"But the canvas has two sides, thank God," wrote Kirchner in a letter dated 7 February, 1919. A unique feature of the artist’s work is that he often paints on both the front and the back of the canvas. He has 138 attested pieces painted on both sides. The backs mostly feature discarded paintings, some of which he also makes unrecognisable by painting over them again.

The "Landschaft bei Moritzburg" shows three horses on the back: in the foreground are two black horses and one white in front of a stylized purple and turquoise landscape. Whether these allude to his passion for the circus or show the artist himself in conflict with his wives or mistresses remains a matter of speculation. The "Drei Pferde" (“Three horses”) are dated to around 1923. This means that they were painted many years later than the front. Or could they be the actual front? Because Kirchner signed the landscape with "Pferde 23" (“Horses 23”) on what is now the front – this signature was only removed later and the back turned into the front.