Tanzende

Hermann Scherer met Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938), one of the most important representatives of German Expressionism, at an exhibition in Basel in 1923. Kirchner immediately invited the young artist to stay with him in the Swiss town of Frauenkirch, near Davos. It was here, after initial hesitation, that Scherer, who saw himself primarily as a painter and graphic artist, engaged with Kirchner’s sculptural works, familiarizing himself with his carving technique. Extremely productive, he created numerous large-format wooden sculptures, each carved from a single trunk.

The work »Dancers« was also produced during this time. It depicts, in dark stained wood, a couple whose roughly carved bodies are tightly pressed against one another. However, the intimate dance is not marked by exuberant joy. Instead, the figure’s faces testify to a sense of fearful restraint and reticence. Scherer employed a simplified language of forms. By dispensing with a true-to-life depiction of the couple and employing an expressive means of representation, he succeeds in highlighting inner emotional states. »Dancers« is the only work that Scherer sold during his lifetime.