The Artists' Association "Brücke" - Chronology
1905
On June 7th, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl
Schmidt-Rottluff, four students of architecture at the Technical University
of Dresden, founded the artists' association "Brücke" (Bridge). Their
aim was to break to new grounds in art by rejecting academic traditions.
Working together very closely they searched for free artistic expression.
The early works show the stimulus of Neoimpressionism and Art Nouveau;
the artists showed particular interest in an exhibition of Van Gogh.
1906
Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and the Swiss painter Cuno Amiet joined the
group. The artists attracted public interest with their first exhibitions.
Furthermore, they sought passive members, who, by paying an annual fee,
would recieve portfolios with graphic works. They would also be kept informed
about the latest activities of the group. With new inspiration and radical
thought, Kirchner carved the programme of the group in wood: "Believing
in development, in a new generation of those who create and those who
enjoy, we call together the youth of today. And as a youth which bears
the future, we aim to create space to live and work, as opposition to
the well-established, older powers. Everyone who reproduces, directly
and without illusion, whatever he senses the urge to create, belongs to
us."
1907-08
Nolde and Bleyl left the "Brücke". Searching for uncorrupted simplicity
in nature, Heckel and Schmidt-Rottluff traveled to the fishing village
of Dangast near Oldenburg for the first time. Kirchner and Pechstein were
working in Goppeln near Dresden. In the following summer, Kirchner discovered
Fehmarn, an island in the Baltic Sea, for himself. The artists presented
the results of their work in a number of grand-scale exhibitions which
were touring several cities in Germany as well as in Europe. They were
now influenced by the French School of Fauvism. 1909 While at the lakes
of Moritzburg in the vicinity of Dresden, the artists worked together
very closely: drawing, painting and bathing in harmony with nature. They
now realized their idea of a narrow unity oof art and life. The naked
human body in nature was the focus of their interest. The intense collaboration
culminated in the independent style of the "Brücke": luminous contrasts
of colour, large and simplified forms which are reduced to the essential,
and an impulsive brush stroke are characteristic of their new style.
1910
The "Brücke" joined the "Neue Secession" in Berlin. Otto Mueller became
a member of the group. An intense study of the so-called "primitive" art,
of the South Seas and Africa, is discernible in this period. The paintings
and woodcuts of this year signify a climax in the work of the "Brücke"
and in German Expressionism.
1911
In autumn, all of the artists came to Berlin for good. The atmosphere
of the metropole and influences of teh international avant garde (cubism
and futurism) caused a deep change in style. During the summer months,
the artists searched, in contrast to the hectic life of the big city,
for the quietness of various places at the North and Baltic Seas.
1912
The "brücke" participated in the famous "Sonderausstellung" in Cologne.
Pechstein left the group. The "Brücke" established contacts with the Munich
artists' association "Blauer Reiter". The common "Brücke" style was now
devided into several individual styles. Most famous: Kirchner's scenes
of Berlin's night life show in their nervous brush strokes the ambiguous
atmosphere of the modern capital. 1913 As a consequence of internal differences
and struggle, the "Brücke" was dissolved. Today, the immense number of
paintings and drawings, as well as graphic works, show the unique work
of this progressive early 20th century artists' association.