Like many artists and writers of his generation, Kirchner rebelled against the conformity and predictability of modern society and preferred a more bohemian way of life. Kirchner, along with Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and others, founded Die Brücke, or The Bridge, a group of artists known as Expressionists who were influential in shaping the development of modern art in the 20th century.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. His work was branded as "degenerate" by the Nazis in 1933, and in 1937 more than 600 of his works were sold or destroyed.
