Archive

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
The Swiss Years
Masterpieces from the Collection of E. W. Kornfeld

15. December 2018 to 
31. March 2019

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Self-Portrait, 1925–26, Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld, Bern/Davos

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Lise Gujer, after a sketch by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, People in the Landscape, 1923, Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld, Bern/Davos

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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Modern Bohemia, 1924, Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld, Bern/Davos

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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, coffee grinder, approx. 1923, Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld, Bern/Davos

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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Stafelalp, Animals Returning Home, 1919, Kunstmuseum Basel, donated by Eberhard W. Kornfeld, 2017, photo: Martin P. Bühler

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Over seven decades, art dealer, academic, collector and artist friend Eberhard W. Kornfeld (b. 1923 in Basel, Switzerland) has dedicated himself to the life and work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. His interest has led to the development of one of the most important privately owned collections of Kirchner’s work. Now, for the first time in Germany, a comprehensive presentation of the work Kirchner produced in Switzerland is on show. This exhibition at Brücke-Museum encompasses paintings, watercolours and drawings, prints, sculptures as well as applied works of art from the Kornfeld collection.

Kirchner moved to the Swiss Alps in 1917 to escape World War I in Germany. He lived there – with minor interruptions – until his suicide in 1938. He deliberately chose a life far removed from all modern conveniences and away from the major art centres, declaring in 1919: “The delights the world affords are the same everywhere, differing only in their outer forms. Here one learns how to see further and go deeper”.

The Swiss Years focuses on those works that the artist produced in the isolation of the Alps and while living amongst a rural community. Kirchner was exceptionally productive during this time: After staying at the Stafelalp in the Canton of Graubünden, he moved to the farm estate In den Lärchen in 1918. His style continually evolved, influenced by new motifs and stimulated by elements of traditional Swiss craftsmanship. From autumn 1923, Kirchner lived in a house on the Wildboden. Today, both houses are owned by Eberhard W. Kornfeld. 

A founding member of the artists’ group Brücke, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner spent nearly twenty years in Switzerland, a period in his artistic activity seldom explored in German exhibition contexts. With this show, the Brücke-Museum seeks to highlight this late (and extensive) phase in Kirchner’s creative output and to open up new perspectives on his oeuvre.

 

Exhibition room a display case in the middle of the room, carpets and other works on the wall

Installation view Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The Swiss Years. Masterpieces from the Collection of E. W. Kornfeld, 2020, Photo: Roman März © Brücke-Museum

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exhibition room a long row of prints on the wall

Installation view Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The Swiss Years. Masterpieces from the Collection of E. W. Kornfeld, 2020, Photo: Roman März © Brücke-Museum

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Exhibition space four sculptural chairs, facing each other on a pedestal, works on the wall in the background

Installation view Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The Swiss Years. Masterpieces from the Collection of E. W. Kornfeld, 2020, Photo: Roman März © Brücke-Museum

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Exhibition space some wooden sculptures on pedestals and textile works on the wall

Installation view Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The Swiss Years. Masterpieces from the Collection of E. W. Kornfeld, 2020, Photo: Roman März © Brücke-Museum

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Artists

Programme

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Publications

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Die Schweizer Jahre
Aus der Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld (2019)

Brücke-Archiv 24
Ed.: Brücke-Museum, Lisa Marei Schmidt
In collaboration with Christiane Remm
With contributions by: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Karin Schick, Lisa Marei Schmidt, Christiane Remm

168 pages
colour images
German/English
ISBN 9 783982 017815
€ 24,90
On sale at the museum

2010–2019
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Die Schweizer Jahre
Aus der Sammlung E. W. Kornfeld (2019)

Information/Downloads

Game of Cards for Kids

The set of cards can guide kids through the exhibition. They are free to draw, tell stories, and express their ideas and observations. Some activities can also be done at home or at school.

Download
Game of Cards for Kids

Press

Staff

Lisa Marei Schmidt, Curator
Daniela Bystron, Curator of Outreach
Katrina Schulz, Assistant Curator
Nora Hogrefe, Assistant Curator of Outreach/lab.Bode

Julia Born, Art Direction & Design
Lisa Pepita Weiss, Design Assistant