Erich Heckel - Biography, Criticism

Painter, born in Döbeln, E Germany. He studied architecture at Dresden before turning to painting. He excelled in lithography and the woodcut, as in his Self-portrait (1917, Munich). Vilified by the Nazis, he stayed in Berlin and was professor at Karlsruhe (1949–56). He is best known for his paintings of nudes and landscapes, and as a founder member of the Expressionist school, Die Brücke (‘the Bridge’).

Erich Heckel (July 31, 1883 - January 27, 1970) was a German painter and print maker, and a founding member of the Die Brücke group ("The Bridge") which existed 1905-1913.

Biography

Heckel was born in Döbeln (Saxony).

Heckel and others members of the group Die Brücke greatly admired the work of Edvard Munch, and aimed to make a "bridge" between traditional neo-romantic German painting and modern expressionist painting.

In 1937 the Nazi Party declared his work "degenerate";

After World War II Heckel lived at Hemmenhofen near Lake Constance, teaching at the Karlsruhe Academy until 1955.

A major retrospective exhibition, Erich Heckel – His Work in the 1920s, was held October 2004 – February 2005 at the Brücke Museum in Berlin.

Criticism

The critic James Auer has said that his Franzi Standing ...

Critical and biographical books are currently only available in the German language.