Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig

* 1880 - † 1938

biography

1880 May 6th: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is born in Aschaffenburg as the son of a paper chemist.
1901 Began studying architecture at the Technical University in Dresden. At the same time, Kirchner attended a private art school.
1903/04 Studied at the Technical University in Munich. Continuation of studies in Dresden. At an exhibition in Munich, Kirchner discovered the paintings of the "Phalanx" group led by Wassily Kandinsky and the French Neo-Impressionists.
1904 Return to Dresden. Acquaintance with the architecture students Erich Heckel, Fritz Bleyl (1880-1966) and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.
1905 Together they founded the artists' association "Die Brücke".
1906 Kirchner takes over Heckel's studio in Dresden's working-class district. In addition to nudes and portraits, his favorite subjects include landscapes, city views and the world of variety shows.
1910 Acquaintance with Otto Mueller in Berlin.
1911 The Brücke artists move to Berlin. The world of vaudeville and the circus become new themes in Kirchner's paintings and graphics. Together with Max Pechstein he founded the institute "Modern Teaching in Painting" (MUIM), which, however, remained unsuccessful.
1912 Participation in the Sonderbund exhibition (Cologne).
1913 After the dissolution of the "Bridge", Kirchner painted a series of large-format street scenes, such as "Berlin Street Scene". First solo exhibitions in the Folkwang Museum (Hagen).
1914 Kirchner moves into a rooftop studio in Friedenau (Berlin).
1915/16 Voluntary military service as a driver in an artillery regiment. After a physical and mental breakdown, Kirchner went to a sanatorium near Königstein (Taunus) for treatment.
1917 Move to Davos. Kirchner paints over old pictures and predates them in order to emphasize his art historical position differently.
1921 Kirchner's works are shown in Berlin's Kronprinzenpalais (department of the Nationalgalerie).