Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938), a founding member of the artist group "Die Brücke" and one of the most important exponents of expressionism, exerts a formative influence on modern art. After having painted numerous nudes in nature during his period in Dresden, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner experienced a certain feeling of confinement after arriving in Berlin in 1911. He then became interested in street scenes, the circus, and cabaret. During the First World War, the front's horrors caused him severe depression. Kirchner retired to the Swiss Alps in 1917 where he rediscovered a certainty: nudes in nature were once again part of his theme alongside alpine landscapes. The confiscation of 639 of his paintings by the Nazi government in 1937 was an ordeal that may have contributed to his suicide the following year.