Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

From the streets of Berlin to the mountains of Davos, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) brings an instantly recognisable intensity to painting. In his urban scenes, elongated figures, compressed perspectives and discordant colours convey both the excitement and the unease of the metropolis.

Born in Aschaffenburg, he studied architecture in Dresden. In 1905, he founded Die Brücke there with Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Rapid drawing from models and work outdoors nourished their search for an expression freed from academic conventions.

After moving to Berlin in 1911, Kirchner found new subjects in crowds, performances and nightlife. Printmaking also holds an essential place in his work: his prints translate the energy of the line and the tensions of the composition into a particularly direct visual language.

The First World War disrupted his life. Following military service and a severe health crisis, several stays in sanatoriums preceded his permanent settlement in Davos in 1918. Erna Schilling, his companion since his Berlin years, subsequently shared this life in Switzerland.

The mountains opened up a new field of experimentation: Alpine landscapes, farming activities and local encounters fed his creativity. In Davos, he also pursued photography, sculpture and textile design. The weaver Lise Gujer produced tapestries from his designs, while young artists came to work alongside him.

From the mid-1920s, his forms became more simplified and his outlines clearer. This renewal continued his artistic investigation. When looking at his works, following the rhythms of the drawing and the relationships between colours reveals how he transforms an observed scene into a sensory experience.

In Germany, the Nazi regime condemned his art as “degenerate”. Kirchner died by suicide near Davos in 1938. His career connects the history of German Expressionism with that of artistic modernism in Switzerland.