Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Born in Germany, Kirchner studied architecture at the Technical University of Dresden, where he also received training in drawing and art. In 1905, he founded the artistic group Die Brücke (The Bridge) with three fellow students, seeking to break with academic conventions and develop a new artistic language. In 1911, he co-founded the Moderner Unterricht in Malerei (Modern School of Painting) in Berlin. In 1913, he published the Chronik der Künstlergruppe Brücke, amid growing tensions that led to the group's dissolution that year. In 1915, he volunteered for military service during the First World War but was discharged after a physical and psychological breakdown. In 1917, he visited Davos and later settled in nearby Frauenkirch, where his health gradually improved. In 1925, he came into contact with artists associated with the Rot-Blau group. In 1937, the Nazis confiscated 639 of his works from German museums, and some were displayed in the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition. Kirchner died by suicide in 1938.