Karl Schmidt-Rotluff
Born – Rottluff, Germany 1884
Died – Berlin, Germany 1976
Karl Schmidt-Rotluff studied architecture in Dresden, where he met painters Heckel and Kirchner. With these two artists he founded Die Brücke (the Bridge) group in 1905. They were joined later by Nolde and Pechsteun, and shared a common studio but failed to produce a clear declaration of intent. Committed to nature as the main sourced of inspiration, their paintings were distinguished by a simplification of form and colour, revealing an admiration for Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Munch and African art. Schmidt-Rotluff stayed with the group until it dissolved in 1913. Uninhibited landscapes were his most common theme, although his work includes figure pictures, portraits and still life. Loftus reveals his Expressionistic style, using flat planes of contrasting, raw colour. In 1906, he stayed with Nolde on the island of Alstein in Norway in order to experience the inhospitiable and forbidding side of nature. He moved to Berlin in 1911, where he was influenced by African sculpture, producing several carvings and woodcuts. Declared degenerate by the Nazis in 1941, he was barred from painting until 1945.
Masterpieces:
- Portrait of Rosa Schapire
- Bursting Dam
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About karl schmidt rotluff
Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s
Otto Friedrich
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Sculpture 1900-1945 (Oxford History of Art)
Penelope Curtis
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Dada East: The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire
Tom Sandqvist
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