The Visit - Couple and Newcomer

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts three individuals in a colorful interior. A man on the left is standing on steps that are coming up from below. He wears a green suit with a white shirt underneath it and holds a hat. His hair appears gray, and he's looking up at a woman standing at the top of the stairs. The woman is turned to the left, looking down at him, with her hands on top of the stair railing. She is wearing a blue striped dress and has short, dark hair. On the right, a man is seated on a patterned orange-and-blue sofa, holding something near his mouth and wearing a green suit. He is also facing the left, looking towards the stairs, and there is a small green window behind him. The people’s skin is painted in shades of pink, purple, and teal. The background of the image includes bold horizontal stripes of red and yellow, with some areas of green behind the man in the chair. The colors in the painting are bright and vibrant, and have been applied with thick, visible brushstrokes.