Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) is considered one of the major figures of 20th century European art. A profound modernist, he revolutionized world art with his brightly colored and outlined paintings, and spread his ideas through the artists' collective Die Brücke ("The Bridge") and the MUIM-Institut, a modernist art school, which he founded.
Kirchner's work reconciled past and present through the prism of Expressionism, reflecting recent ideas of the artistic avant-garde while exploring traditional academic approaches and subjects. His work addresses social, moral and emotional issues with great intensity. Distorted perspectives, harsh lines, and unusual colors are central to his practice, as is the ongoing desire to capture the human form, whether it is in busy urban spaces, as in Street Scene in Berlin (1913), or in his famously decadent studio.
This introduction covers Kirchner's career between Germany and Switzerland, marked by the founding of Die Brücke and his inclusion in the infamous "degenerate art" exhibition organized by the Nazis in 1937. Throughout the pages, one discovers colorful landscapes, austere nudes and hectic street scenes and, above all, a constant emphasis on the emotional experience of the painter and the viewer.
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