The Myths and History of Red Hair: Red Hair in Art: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art.

He was born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, and studied architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule of Dresden. In 1905, along with Fritz Bleyl and two other architecture students, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel, founded the artists group Die Brücke. The group aimed to eschew the prevalent traditional academic style and find a new mode of artistic expression, which would form a bridge (hence the name) between the past and the present.

In 1913, his writing of Chronik der Brücke (Brücke chronicle) led to the ending of the group. At this time, he established an individual identity with his first solo exhibition, which took place at the Essen Folkwang Museum. During the next two years, he painted a series of "Straßenszenen" (street scenes) showing the streets of Berlin, with the central characters of street walkers.

At the onset of the First World War in September 1914, Kirchner volunteered for military service. In July 1915 he was sent to Halle an der Saale to train as a driver in the reserve unit of the 75th Mansfeld Field Artillery Regiment. Kirchner's riding instructor, Professor Hans Fehr, arranged for Kirchner to be discharged after a mental breakdown.

Throughout 1916, Kirchner produced a series of oil paintings and many drawings, during his stays in Königstein. After an exhibition of his work at the gallery of Ludwig Schames, in Frankfurt am Main, in October 1916, Kirchner sold many works and began to do well financially. In December, he suffered from another nervous breakdown and was admitted to Dr. Edel's sanatorium in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Later, he was admitted to The Bellevue Sanatorium, run by Ludwig Binswanger, in Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) where he continued to produce paintings and woodcuts.

In 1921, there was a major display of Kirchner's work in Berlin and the reviews were favourable. He continued to work in Frauenkirch (near Davos), his style growing increasingly abstract.

Throughout the 30s, Kirchner became increasingly upset with the situation in Germany. After Austria was annexed by Germany in the Anschluss, Kirchner became disturbed by the idea that Germany might invade Switzerland. On 15 June 1938, Kirchner took his own life by gunshot in front of his home in Frauenkirch; however, there are doubts about his death being a suicide.

Here are some of his paintings featuring red hair.