Ernst Kirhner German expressionist artist Date of Birth: 06.04.1880 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Ernst Kirchner
2. Early Life and Education
3. Artistic Career
4. Wartime and Later Life
5. Later Years and Death

Biography of Ernst Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) was a German expressionist artist and one of the leaders of the expressionist movement. He was born on May 6, 1880, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, into a family of an engineer-chemist.

Early Life and Education

From 1901 to 1905, Kirchner studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Dresden University of Technology and also attended the Experimental Workshop of Free and Applied Art in Munich. After returning to Dresden, he formed the group "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) in 1905, along with artists Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, which became the epicenter of the expressionist movement.

Artistic Career

In 1911, Kirchner moved to Berlin and published the "Chronicle of The Bridge" in 1912. However, he soon had a falling out with the other members of the group and began working independently. Kirchner's mature works were characterized by the themes of the big city, genres, and landscapes, portrayed in nervous, angular forms and dramatic, tension-filled colors. He was also highly regarded for his skills in drawing and printmaking.

Wartime and Later Life

At the beginning of World War I, Kirchner served as an artilleryman in Halle, Germany. However, due to the toll it took on his mental health, he was discharged after just one year in 1915. Kirchner found solace in moving to Switzerland, where he lived in Frauenkirch near Davos. He continued to create artworks that were rhythmical and colorful but overall more positive in tone, inspired by alpine landscapes.

Later Years and Death

Kirchner explored abstraction during the 1920s, with his images becoming more "hieroglyphic" and semi-abstract. Labeled as a representative of "degenerate art" by the Nazis, he found himself in forced creative isolation. Despite the relative safety of living in neutral Switzerland, the tragic events in Germany led Kirchner to commit suicide. He passed away on June 15, 1938, in Frauenkirch.