Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

German born Kirchner studied architecture at the Royal Technical University of Dresden, where he got the opportunity to train also in life drawings and art. In 1903 together with three fellow students he founded the artistic group Die Brücke (The Bridge), aiming to establish a connection between past and present and break social conventions, although through liberated behaviours and female nude representations. In 1911 he founded the MIUM – Modern teaching school of painting in Berlin and in 1913 he published the The Bridge’s Chronicle, marking the end of the Bridge group. With the beginning of WWI, Kirchner enrolled voluntary, but he was discharged following mental breakdown. In 1916 he began getting some commercial success, although his physical and mental conditions were still severe. In 1917 he accepted the invite of a friend to visit Davos and he was later admitted in Frauenkirchen and his health started to improve. In 1925 he became close to the Rot Blau group. In 1933 the Nazi classified him among the Degenerate artists and over 600 of his artworks were destroyed. He decided to commit suicide in 1938.