Die Brücke

An influential mini-movement of German Expressionism, Die Brucke (The Bridge) consisted of a group of Expressionist painters, who came together in Dresden in 1905. Its founders, all architecture students at the Dresden Technical School who shared a studio in the city, included Fritz Bleyl (1880-1966), Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) and Erich Heckel (1883-1970). Determined to act as a bridge between the popular art of the time and the newly developing modern art, Die Brucke artists were inspired mainly by Fauvism, as well as the traditional social concern and angst, characteristic of Nordic culture. Other influences included Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), African and Oceanic art, tribal motifs - all of which were combined with Fauvist colourism, to create an ultimately modern style of expressionism. The centre for much of this avant-garde art was Walden's Sturm Gallery, in Berlin.
Like The Blue Rider, also The Bridge had a short life. In 1913, the group dissolved in controversy. But all artists continued their work after World War I until 1933. When the German Nazis came to power the former artists of The Bridge were declared as "entartet" (degenerated). All works were banned from museums and either sold outside Germany or burned in public.

Fritz Bleyl
Erich Heckel
Ernst Ludwig Dirchner
Otto Mueller
Emil Nold
Max Pechstein
Karl Schnidt-Rottluff



References;
http://www.artelino.com/articles/the_bridge.asp
http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c20th/diebrucke.htm
http://www.msxlabs.org/forum/sanat/267042-sanat-akimlari-die-brucke-kopru.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Brücke
http://www.the-art-world.com/history/german-expressionism2.htm
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/die-brucke.htm