(German: “The Bridge”). A group of young German artists who came together in Dresden in 1905. The founding members were Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.  They shared an expressionist style characterized by high-keyed color and a direct, simplified approach to form. The name Die Brücke was chosen to suggest the group’s desire to “bridge” the past and present. The group disbanded around 1913.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Reclining Nude in Front of a Mirror. Oil on canvas. 1909/1910. Brücke-Museum, Berlin.