Die Brücke & Der Blaue Reiter
1905–1925German Expressionism in painting — raw, urgent, anti-academic. Color as scream. Kirchner's Berlin streets, Kokoschka's psychological portraits.
Crude, aggressive brushwork. Anti-naturalistic color. Woodcut aesthetics applied to painting. Influenced by African and Oceanic art.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
1880–1938German
Leader of Die Brücke. Painted the frenetic energy of Berlin's streets with angular, clashing colors.
Deliberately crude technique. Acid colors clashing violently. Woodcut-derived angular forms in paint.
Further reading: Kirchner: On the Edge of the Abyss of Time (Taschen Basic Art) — Norbert WolfBerlin street green
Acid green of anxious city scenes.
Material: Viridian, emerald green, unmixed
RGB(44, 106, 58)
Cabaret pink
Hot pink of nightlife and sex.
Material: Alizarin crimson, cadmium red, lead white
RGB(216, 96, 128)
Angular blue
Deep blue of shadows in city streets.
Material: Ultramarine, Prussian blue
RGB(27, 58, 138)
Acid yellow
Aggressive yellow — electric, urban.
Material: Chrome yellow, cadmium yellow
RGB(216, 192, 32)
Woodcut black
Dense black of woodcut-derived outlines.
Material: Lamp black, bone black
RGB(11, 10, 8)
Expressionist flesh
Orange-warm flesh — not observed, expressed.
Material: Cadmium orange, yellow ochre
RGB(216, 144, 64)
Pigments: Emerald green · Viridian · Alizarin crimson · Cadmium red · Lead white · Ultramarine · Prussian blue · Chrome yellow · Cadmium yellow · Lamp black · Bone black · Ochre
Oskar Kokoschka
1886–1980Austrian
Painter of psychological X-rays. His portraits expose the inner life — nervous, alive, anxious.
Thin, scratchy paint revealing canvas. Restless line work. Late landscapes become more colorful and fluid.
Further reading: Kokoschka (Great Modern Masters) — Jose Maria FaernaNerve red
Anxious red of exposed psyche.
Material: Cadmium red, vermilion, thin application
RGB(185, 48, 48)
Anxiety blue
Cold blue of psychological unease.
Material: Cobalt blue, Prussian blue
RGB(46, 74, 122)
Scratched flesh
Nervous, scratchy flesh rendering.
Material: Yellow ochre, lead white, thin washes
RGB(201, 160, 128)
Exposed canvas
Raw canvas showing through thin paint.
Material: Bare primed canvas
RGB(208, 200, 176)
Turbulent green
Dark green in late landscape paintings.
Material: Viridian, chrome green
RGB(59, 90, 58)
Portrait shadow
Deep shadow revealing psychological depth.
Material: Burnt umber, lamp black
RGB(43, 34, 24)
Pigments: Vermilion · Cadmium red · Prussian blue · Cobalt blue · Ochre · Lead white · Viridian · Chrome green · Umber · Lamp black
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