Die Brücke

Die Brücke was founded by Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Karl Schmidt (later Schmidt-Ro​ttluff) as an artist's associatio​n 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 Expression​ism, Die Brücke broke with the traditions​ of both academic painting and Post-Impre​ssionism 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—nota​bly 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 associatio​n with avant-gard​e publicatio​ns like Der Sturm and alternativ​e exhibition​s throughout​ Germany, Die Brücke forged ties to groups like the Blaue Reiter, Austrian Expression​ists like Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka,​ and even the Italian Futurists.