Villa in Dresden

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner studied architecture in Dresden. He was a self-taught painter. Together with Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff he founded the expressionist group, Die Brücke, in Dresden in 1905. Villa in Dresden is a typical example of Kirchner’s budding expressionism. Here the artist magically transforms an everyday scene into a powerful portrayal in which the geometrical architecture is contrasted…

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner studied architecture in Dresden. He was a self-taught painter. Together with Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff he founded the expressionist group, Die Brücke, in Dresden in 1905. Villa in Dresden is a typical example of Kirchner’s budding expressionism. Here the artist magically transforms an everyday scene into a powerful portrayal in which the geometrical architecture is contrasted with the irregular silhouettes of the trees. The artist has not used a primer but applied the paint directly onto very rough canvas which is visible between the various colours. This has the effect of slightly toning down the colour contrasts. As an architecture student, Kirchner drew numerous townscapes in Dresden. The house we see here is located on Löbtauerstrasse and appears in some of his other drawings and paintings from this period, but viewed from different angles.