Saturday, August 25, 2012

ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER

In 1905, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was one of the founding members of the art movement Die Brücke (The Bridge). The Brücke style attempted the creation of pure expression through color and form. Their aim was to find new ways of artistic expression and to free themselves from the traditional academic style of the time. The Brücke is therefore one of the earliest German artists’ associations which had a crucial impact on the development of classical modern art. The artists collectively created a style which was to be defined within 20th century art history as Expressionism.

In 1937 the Nazis confiscated nearly all of Kirchners's paintings that were in German museums (over 600).  Already suffering from mental problems (he suffered a nervous breakdown during his service in World War I), Kirchner committed suicide in 1938.

Here are three of his masterpieces that are part of the permanent collection of the St. Louis Art Museum.

Portrait of a Woman (1917)





































View of the Basel and the Rhine (1927/1928)

Circus Rider (1914)

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