Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) is one of the best-known painters and sculptors of German Expressionism. As co-founder of the artists' group the Brücke at the beginning of the twentieth century, he is also one of the most important artists of the avant-garde. His life and work were deeply shaped by his search for the 'exotic' and 'primordial', for foreign lands and cultures. What resulted were brilliantly colourful, imaginative artworks in which he create foreign worlds. This book traces the stages of Kirchner's life and artistic development. It illustrates how, by synthesising a great variety of influences from non-European cultures, the artists achieved an intermingling of art, life and work that manifested itself as 'exotic' Gesamtkunstwerk not only in his work but also in his live-in studios.