Die
Brücke
Prior
to World War I there were two important movements within the
German Expressionism movement itself. While there were many
styles within each of these two movements, they were quite different
from each other in both technique and philosophy.
Die Brücke
(the Bridge) was established in 1905 in Dresden by four architectural
students who had just graduated from Dresden Polytechnic Institute:
Fritz Bleyl,
Erich
Heckel, Ernst
Kirchner,and Karl
Schmidt-Rottluff. Other members included Max
Pechstein,Otto
Mueller,Max
Beckmann Kathe
Kollwitz ,Erich
Heckel and, for a short time, Emil
Nolde. The name was chosen by Schmidt-Rottfluff as an indication
of their faith in art of the future, to which their work would
serve as a bridge.
Kirchner
was the leader and spiritual conscience of the group, insisting
that they express their inner convictions with both sincerity
and spontaneity. The group's work consisted mainly of landscapes,
nudes, street life, and carnival performers. They used images
of the modern city to convey a world of hostility and alienation
in which a sense of foreboding and barely-restrained violence
seemed ready to burst forth from the canvases.
The more
traditional and conventional artistic and political atmosphere
of Dresden proved not to be receptive to the artists' work and
in 1908 the group relocated to Berlin. Berlin at this time was
the cultural and artistic capital of Germany...a city of labyrinth
streets, unplanned growth, modern buildings, revolutionary politics,
and a large migrant population. Kirchner especially was drawn
to the street life of Berlin and produced some of his best work
during this period.
The diverging
convictions of the members of Die Brücke brought about
the collapse of the group in 1913.
Der
Blaue Reiter
Wasilly
Kandinsky was a Russian abstract artist who embraced German
Expressionism. Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) was named after
an exhibition and painting of his and he was its guiding spirit.
Der Balue Reiter was based in Munich from 1911 to 1914. Among
the more well-known members were: Gabrielle
Munter, August
Macke,& Franz
Marc. Their works ranged from pure abstraction to romantic
imagery and attempted to express spiritual truths. The members
of Der Blaue Reiter shared both a philosophical view and certain
approaches to technique.
