Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (May 6, 1880 – June 15, 1938) was a German expressionist painter and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge." May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... On White II by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923. ... For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Die Brücke (The Bridge) was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905. ...

Born in Aschaffenberg, Germany, Kirchner studied architecture in Dresden beginning in 1901. While in Dresden, he befriended three other young architecture students, Erich Heckel, Karl-Schmidt Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl. This young group was drawn together by their desire to become painters as well as their dislike of modern painting. They began calling themselves Die Brücke which described their liking of "all revolutionary and surging elements". The group sought inspiration in such painters as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Edvard Munch as well as the primitive arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands. Map of Germany showing Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ... Architecture (in Greek αρχή = first and τέχνη = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Brühls Terrace and the Frauenkirche Dresden [ˈdreːsdn̩] (Sorbian/Lusatian Drježdźany), the capital city of the German federal state of Saxony, is situated in a valley on the river Elbe. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Erich Heckel (1883-1970). ... Self-portrait (1886) Vincent Willem van Gogh (March 30, 1853–July 29, 1890) was a Dutch painter, generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history. ... Paul Gauguin (June 7, 1848 - May 9, 1903) was a leading Post-Impressionist painter. ... Self portrait, 1895 Edvard Munch (December 12, 1863 – January 23, 1944) was a Norwegian expressionist painter and printmaker. ... Naïve art is a term that is usually applied to the work of untrained painters; it presumes the existence of an academy and of a generally accepted educated manner of painting. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The Pacific Ocean has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands; the exact number is unknown. ...

Kirchner's own artistic development began with woodcuts he created in the years before 1900. After studying architecture, he studied painting in Munich and was influenced there by Art Nouveau styles as well as the woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. In Munich, Kirchner's style of painting developed as he began using bold colors, remniscent of Gauguin, and wild brushstrokes reminsiscent of Van Gogh. The portrayal of subjects conveys the emotional intensity found in the woodcuts of Dürer and Munch. A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München (pronounced listen) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ... Alfons Mucha, lithographed poster Dancel (1898). ... Self-Portrait, 1493, Oil on Canvas Albrecht Dürer (May 21, 1471 - April 6, 1528) was a German painter, wood carver, engraver, and mathematician. ...

With the onset of World War I, Kirchner entered service and in 1915, he suffered a nervous breakdown and physical collapse. He moved to a sanitarium near Frankfurt, where he completed five wall frescoes in 1916, but was struck by a car and severely injured. In 1918 he moved near Davos, Switzerland to convelesce, but continued to suffer from depression despite solo shows held in Munich, Hamburg, and New York. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Although not a medical term, the phrase nervous breakdown is often used by laymen to describe a sudden and acute attack of mental illness—for instance, clinical depression or anxiety disorder—in a previously outwardly healthy person. ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth largest city in Germany. ... Weissflujoch Davos (population 13,000) is a town in eastern Switzerland, in the canton Graubünden, on the Landwasser River. ... The word depression can mean: A decrease of functional activity in behavior patterns. ...

His inclusion in Entartete Kunst, the Nazis’ 1937 exhibition of so-called “degenerate art,” along with the destruction of approximately 600 of his completed works, caused him further distress. Kirchner committed suicide in 1938 in Davos. The Magdeburger Ehrenmal (Magdeburg cenotaph) created by Ernst Barlach was declared to be degenerate art due to the deformity and emaciation of the figures which corresponded to Nordaus theory of the connection between mental and physical degeneration. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed, or attempted the act. ... Davos viewed from air Davos (population 13,000) is a town in eastern Switzerland, in the canton of Graubünden, on the Landwasser River. ...

Sources

• Arnason, H.H.. History of Modern Art, 3rd. Edition. Prentice-Hall, New York. 1986.
• Janson, H.W.. History of Art. Harry N. Abrams, New York. 1995.