The Brücke Museum in Berlin's Dahlem district is showcasing the work of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, one of its founding figures, in a comprehensive exhibition featuring 70 paintings from the museum's collection. This marks the first major display of the German Expressionist's work at the institution in ten years, running from November 16, 2025, through February 15, 2026, under the title "The World Must Always Be Seen Anew - Paintings by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff."
The exhibition follows a chronological arrangement that effectively demonstrates how Schmidt-Rottluff's artistic phases evolved throughout his life in response to changing circumstances. Born in 1884 in Rottluff near Chemnitz, he met future collaborator Erich Heckel during his school years. While studying architecture in Dresden, the two friends joined forces with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Fritz Bleyl in 1905 to establish the artist group Die Brücke (The Bridge), aiming to develop a new, unconventional painting style that would serve as an artistic breakthrough against traditional academic conventions.
As a student, Schmidt-Rottluff attended exhibitions that inspired his early artistic experiments, including the color-intensive, roughly painted "Am Meer" (By the Sea) from 1906. The works of Paul Signac, Vincent van Gogh, and Emil Nolde left particularly lasting impressions on his developing style. He experimented with various painting techniques, later modifying his approach by using paint diluted with medium, allowing him to work faster and more fluidly, almost like watercolor painting. This technical innovation enabled even quicker expression of his artistic vision and marked the beginning of his distinctive Expressionist style.
During summer months, Schmidt-Rottluff was frequently drawn to the North Sea, particularly to the small fishing village of Dangast. The natural landscape around the Jade Bay inspired him to conduct radical color experiments that transformed ordinary scenes into vibrant artistic statements. His 1910 painting "Deichdurchbruch" (Dike Breach) exemplifies this approach, converting what would have been a cool-toned coastal scene in reality into a fiery red sea flanked by yellow-green vegetation and deep blue sky. The unbroken primary colors intensify each other to achieve remarkable luminosity.
The portrait of his friend, art historian and patron Rosa Schapire, likely created during this period, demonstrates his bold approach to figure painting. "Bildnis S." (Portrait S.) from 1911 shows her wearing a large, extravagant hat with her head resting on her hand. Green-yellow color planes model her clothing while dark lines contour the figure, with the intensity further enhanced by blue-framed eyes that draw the viewer's attention.
During winter months, Schmidt-Rottluff typically remained in Dresden, Hamburg, or Berlin, working in his studio from memory or with live models. The "Viertelstundeakte" (Quarter-Hour Acts) organized by Brücke members involved models changing poses every 15 minutes, creating rapid figure studies that served as templates for works like "Mädchen bei der Toilette" (Girl at Her Toilette) from 1912 and "Sinnende Frau" (Contemplating Woman) from 1912. Even with these motifs, he used the subjects primarily as vehicles for experimenting with color and form rather than focusing on realistic representation.
Following his military service in World War I, Schmidt-Rottluff painted particularly colorful and sometimes more realistic works in the early 1920s while staying in Jershöft and later at Lake Lebas on what is now the Polish Baltic coast. The sea and natural landscapes remained central subjects throughout his career, providing endless inspiration for his color investigations. However, his artistic freedom faced severe challenges when the Nazis came to power, as his works were included in the "Degenerate Art" exhibition that aimed to discredit modern artistic movements. In 1941, he received a professional ban that forced him to retreat from public artistic life.
Despite these restrictions, Schmidt-Rottluff remained faithful to his Expressionist approach, continuing to create still lifes, interiors, landscapes, and portraits from memory and observation. He consistently discovered new color combinations, drew stronger contours, and simplified forms throughout this period of artistic isolation. His resilience during these difficult years demonstrated his unwavering commitment to his artistic vision, even when external circumstances severely limited his opportunities for exhibition and recognition.
Until Schmidt-Rottluff's death in 1976, his works remained painterly investigations that didn't need to anchor themselves to concrete content or literal representation. He used his motifs primarily as vehicles for intuitive exploration of color, form, and emotional expression. In 1913, he wrote: "What I know about myself is that I have no program, only the inexplicable longing to grasp what I see and feel, and to find the purest expression for it." This statement encapsulates his lifelong artistic philosophy of prioritizing authentic emotional expression over academic conventions or commercial considerations.
The enduring power of Schmidt-Rottluff's work lies in its concentration on essential elements, creating strong artistic impact through bold simplification and color relationships. Remarkably, his paintings continue to appear surprisingly "fresh" and almost contemporary in their color and formal composition, despite their classical painting gestures and historical context. The exhibition reveals how his Expressionist approach maintains its relevance and visual impact for contemporary audiences, demonstrating the timeless quality of genuine artistic innovation.
The Brücke Museum, located at Bussardsteig 9 in Berlin's Dahlem district, houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of German Expressionist art. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 11 AM to 5 PM, closed on Tuesdays, providing visitors ample opportunity to experience this significant retrospective of one of Germany's most influential modern artists.
