- Kirchner and the Berlin StreetOur PickBy Deborah Wye, Ernst Kirchner
- KirchnerOur PickBy Norbert Wolf
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Drawings and PastelsBy Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Roman Norbert Ketterer, Wolfgang Henze
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Friends: Expressionism from the Swiss MountainsBy Beat Stutzer, Samuel Vitali, Han Steenbruggen, Matthias Frehner
- Hand and Head: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Self-Portrait as SoldierBy Peter Springer, Susan Ray
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: The Photographic WorkOur PickBy Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Important Art by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Nude Dancers (Nackte Tanzerinnen) (1909)
This woodcut print features a group of voluptuous nude female dancers on stage. Created during the Die Brucke era, the work exemplifies the energetic atmosphere of a meeting in Kirchner's studio, a recurrent scene in his pictures. In an attempt to revive the traditional printmaking, Kirchner created expressive, dynamic black lines by aggressively carving away the woodblock; the large areas of light and dark create an ambiguous sense of spatial depth on a two dimensional surface. Kirchner renders a balance between the two extremes (light and dark, bold and delicate) to create a harmonious composition, allowing the eye to sweep across the picture plane. The conscious decision to leave white areas unrefined, making the process of carving visible, is a rejection of conventional academic teaching, a philosophy typified by Die Brucke.
Marzella (1909-1910)
Around the time this picture was painted Kirchner was spending time around the Moritzberg lakes, and the girl depicted is the daughter of a circus artiste's widow that he met there. Emblematic of his Die Brucke phase, Marzella is a provocative depiction of a young, pre-pubescent girl. The youth of the figure coupled with the intense gaze and heavily made-up face give the appearance of uncanny maturity. Unnatural colors and self-conscious body language add to the unease in the composition. The painting is an example of a technique of rapid sketching used by members of Die Brucke, who believed this process allowed them to capture the "soul" of the subject. The picture is also indicative of the influence of Edvard Munch on Kirchner's work, since the composition appears to be based on Munch's Puberty (1892).
Deutsch: Nollendorfplatz (1912)
Deutsch: Nollendorfplatz reveals Kirchner's shift in subject matter from the female nude to depictions of the metropolis. Here, the perspective is skewed, a clear rejection of his previous study of architecture. The quick, gestural use of line creates a sense of immediacy and speed within the piece, capturing the essence of a busy German city. The use of clashing blues and yellows to depict the cityscape is typical of Kirchner's style during the Die Brucke years, though the distorted imagery of the city may also have been inspired by an exhibition of Italian Futurist art that he saw in the year that this was painted.
Influences and Connections

- Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
- Erich Heckel
- Fritz Bleyl
- Willem de Kooning
- Georg Baselitz
- Jörg Immendorff
- Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
- Erich Heckel
- Otto Mueller
- Fritz Bleyl