(the Bridge), an association of expressionist artists, most of whom were German. Die Brücke was active in Dresden from 1905 to 1913. The association’s leading artists were E. L. Kirchner, E. Heckel, K. Schmidt-Rotluff, and M. Pechstein. E. Nolde was a member of Die Brücke for a short time.
The members of Die Briicke opposed the principles of impressionism and art nouveau. Inspired by V. van Gogh and E. Munch, as well as by primitive and medieval art, the artists sought new means of expression. They distorted objects and used intentionally crude and simplified geometric forms with sharp outlines, dissonant combinations of patches of local color, and thick impasto brushwork.
Die Briicke challenged the moral and ethical norms of bourgeois society by means of tragically incisive imagery. However, the artists’ extremely subjective world view, the mystical undertones in many of the works, and the intensity of the all-destructive force that permeated the group’s statements made the artists’ protest impulsive and anarchic.