Happy Birthday Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

German Expressionist Painter

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born on May 6th, 1880 in Aschaffenburg, Germany.  In 1905, Kirchner and three fellow architecture students founded the artists group Die Brücke (“The Bridge”) that promoted a modern, expressive style that could be “The Bridge” to the future of art.  

Kirchner led a tragic life.  He volunteered to fight in the First World War in 1914 and was quickly discharged after he suffered a breakdown. He struggled continuously with addition to alcohol and drugs.  And while he received critical acclaim early in his career, eventually the German Nazi Party destroyed 639 of his works of art and featured 35 of his paintings in the Degenerate Art Exhibition of 1937.

Kirchner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 15, 1938 at age 58.