Die Brücke
About
Die Brücke was founded by Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Karl Schmidt (later Schmidt-Rottluff) as an artist's association in Dresden in 1905. Its name translates as “The Bridge,” a metaphor for art’s purpose of opening passage to new worlds. Closely associated with German Expressionism, Die Brücke broke with the traditions of both academic painting and Post-Impressionism through a use of primitive forms in painting, sculpture, and graphic prints, and further, in painting, the use of pure color and gesture. Many members of the group—notably Kirchner and Max Pechstein—relocated to Berlin beginning around 1910, where they enjoyed their first critical successes before the group officially dissolved in 1913. Through their association with avant-garde publications like Der Sturm and alternative exhibitions throughout Germany, Die Brücke forged ties to groups like the Blaue Reiter, Austrian Expressionists like Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, and even the Italian Futurists.
