Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (Aschaffenburg, 1880 - Davos, 1938), a German painter, etcher and sculptor, is considered to be the father of Expressionism. In 1905, under the impulse of breaking with academic tradition and polemize with bourgeois society, he founded the group 'Die Brücke' (the Bridge), that dissolved in 1913, together with Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel e Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. After the terrible experience of the first world war, and a brief period at the front, Kirchner settled in Davos, in Switzerland: here he remained faithful to the strong colors and antinaturalistic paintings of the preceding period, but abandoned the violent espressive deformations that were typical of Brücke painting and especially devoted himself to the realization of alpine landscapes that are rich of veiled symbolic references.
This book presents a rich selection of works created by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.These paintings, etchings and drawings represent all the creative phases of this expressionist master, from the Brücke period (with the memorable portraits and some famous views of Berlin) to the last years in Davos, with the numerous mountain landscapes of extraordinary quality. The volume is further enriched by a group of photographs taken by Kirchner: where he portrays his friends and parents, and some subjects that he has then developped in his paintings and etchings.publiarq.com