Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 – 1938), German Expressionist painter and printmaker. He is a self-taught artist and studied architecture in school. He’s one of the founders of “the Bridge”, a famous expressionist group in Germany. The group started a movement that supports the emotional expressions in the art without the rules and constraints of the traditional academic style of art; a bridge connecting the conventional past and the future. In 1915, Kirchner joined the army but later discharged due to his mental breakdown. He suffered through mental illness and in 1933 he was listed as one of the “degenerate artists”; over 600 pieces of his work were destroyed. Then, in 1938 he eventually committed suicide in Switzerland.
This piece is called Street, Dresden (1908, dated 1907 on the painting). It’s a city street with mostly women and a little girl with a huge hat awkwardly standing in the center of the composition. Everyone has a flashy hat on and they don’t seem to be interacting with one another. The description of the art quotes Kirchner “The more I mixed with people the more I felt my loneliness”, implying his isolation with the society. This painting depicts a sense of detachment from one another even in a crowded street like this. The quote gives me a clear picture of the artist’s implications and I could completely relate to it even a century later. As technology advances, people feel more and more lonely.
The expressionist painting displays Kirchner’s current emotion state; in which it’s not a realistic depiction of what he sees. It’s an accurate and explicit portrayal of how he feels. The looks of the subject’s faces are hard to unfold and their eyes are dark and empty. The distortion of the forms and the color such as the pink color street, green and orange color faces, and the abrupt green and blue lines along the subjects show the absurdity of his thoughts and emotions. This reminds me of another expressionist painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, which also employs exaggerated strokes and vivid colors to express his inner anxiety and emotions. As theartstory.org states, expressionism implies alienations as a byproduct of urbanizations in the modern world. Kirchner expresses his concerns on the urban lifestyle that is distancing the human relationships.
The use of vibrant and bold colors in this painting draws my attention. The bright orange and green color on the women’s faces makes this painting even more unusual. The women’s facial expression makes me feel uneasy but yet intrigued. Maybe this is how Kirchner feels while creating this painting. The orange neon lines on the woman’s hat are the first thing I saw and it makes me wonder what kind of life she leads? Why does Kirchner place that young girl with a huge hat in the middle? What is the crowd looking at?
https://www.moma.org/artists/3115
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/expressionism/
Tinza, This is a compelling painting and a great example of Expressionism. As you have explained, the “modernism” of the work is apparent in its non-realistic style, its creative use of color, its emphasis on loneliness and alienation in the modern city, and its emotional evocativeness. Nice work!