Step by Step
1
Die Brücke (The Bridge, 1905, Dresden)
Founded by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Emil Nolde, Die Brücke favored raw color, harsh outlines, psychological tension, and urban alienation as subject matter, drawing significant influence from African and Oceanic art.
2
Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider, 1911, Munich)
Founded by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Paul Klee, Der Blaue Reiter pursued a more spiritual and abstract sensibility — with Kandinsky moving progressively toward total abstraction.
3
Nazi suppression
Both groups were later suppressed by the Nazi regime as "degenerate art" (Entartete Kunst), most notably in a dedicated 1937 exhibition designed to publicly denounce this work.
4
Precursors and later recurrence
Edvard Munch's The Scream served as an important precursor to German Expressionism. Expressionism as a broader style recurred throughout the 20th century, notably resurfacing in the 1980s as Neo-Expressionism.
Applied Walkthrough
1
Die Brücke, founded in Dresden in 1905, channeled raw color and harsh outlines into depictions of psychological tension and urban alienation — an aesthetic significantly shaped by the group's encounter with African and Oceanic art.
2
Der Blaue Reiter, founded in Munich in 1911, pursued a related but more spiritual sensibility, with founding member Wassily Kandinsky moving progressively toward complete abstraction over the following years.
3
Both groups' work — along with Edvard Munch's earlier, similarly anguished The Scream — was later condemned and suppressed by the Nazi regime, most publicly in the 1937 "Entartete Kunst" (degenerate art) exhibition specifically designed to denounce it.
4
Despite this suppression, Expressionism as a broader stylistic approach proved remarkably durable, resurfacing decades later in the 1980s as Neo-Expressionism — a testament to the lasting power of this raw, emotionally direct visual language.
Exam Application
Exams test whether you can distinguish Die Brücke (raw color, urban alienation) from Der Blaue Reiter (more spiritual, abstract), and whether you know the historical fate of German Expressionist art under the Nazi regime.
⚠ Common Trap
The most common trap is confusing the two groups' specific characters — Die Brücke favored raw, harsh urban alienation influenced by African and Oceanic art, while Der Blaue Reiter pursued a more spiritual, abstract sensibility, with Kandinsky specifically moving toward total abstraction.
✓ Quick Self-Check
1. When and where was Die Brücke founded, and by whom?
1905, in Dresden, by Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff, and Nolde (among others).
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2. When and where was Der Blaue Reiter founded, and by whom?
1911, in Munich, by Kandinsky, Marc, and Klee (among others).
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3. What influenced Die Brücke's aesthetic?
African and Oceanic art.
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4. What happened to German Expressionist art under the Nazi regime?
It was suppressed as "degenerate art" (Entartete Kunst), notably in a 1937 exhibition.
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5. What later movement represented a resurgence of Expressionist style?
Neo-Expressionism, in the 1980s.
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