German painting of the 20th century (3) - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1994 - 200 Pfennig

Erich Heckel (1883-1970) was one of the co-founders of the artist community, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Die Brücke, which was formed in Dresden in 1905 and broke apart in Berlin in 1913. Heckel's outstanding role in this group of artists was - in addition to his artistic potential - that of the authoritative organizer and exhibition maker. It was thanks to his activities that the artists set up joint studios and quickly found exhibition opportunities. The »Landscape near Dresden«, created in 1910, represents the mature »bridge« style of the late Dresden years, characterized by enormous color contrasts and a far-reaching distance from local color. Heckel captures a suburban landscape with an almost graphic style of painting and a fluid application of paint, which is tense and expressive through the strong complementary contrast of red and green. The bridge motif in the foreground with the stroller alludes to the name of the artist group and the associated program: The bridge becomes a symbol for an artistic departure and for the search for freer life possibilities. Without an academic education, the »Brücke« artists developed new forms of expression that were to be groundbreaking for modernism in Germany. (Text: Martina Padberg, M.A., Bonn)