Brief Biography-Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany in 1880. In 1901 he studied architecture in Dresden, and four years later, he co-founded the Die Brücke with three other students. It was similar to the Fauves group in France; it lasted until 1913. From the group, expressionism emerged. Kirchner spent time in military service during WWI and suffered a nervous breakdown. He entered a Berlin sanatorium in 1916. The Nazis purged his work and patrons, and he shot himself in Switzerland in 1938. In America, his paintings achieved exceptionally high prices and still do worldwide.