Question 1

True or false: Kirchner died by suicide in Switzerland in 1938, fearing a Nazi invasion.

Accepted Answer

True. Depressed and anxious about the Nazi threat, he shot himself in Davos, where he had lived in exile.

Question 2

True or false: Kirchner founded the influential German expressionist group Die Brücke in 1905.

Accepted Answer

True. He co-founded Die Brücke in Dresden, a key movement that shaped early Expressionism with bold, distorted forms.

Question 3

True or false: Nazi authorities labeled Kirchner a 'degenerate artist' and confiscated over 600 of his works.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1937, the Nazis seized 639 pieces from museums, calling them 'degenerate,' which devastated him.

Question 4

True or false: Kirchner often used his friends and fellow artists as models in his Berlin street scenes.

Accepted Answer

True. He painted prostitutes and bohemian acquaintances, including models from his circle, to capture urban angst.

Question 5

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner volunteered for military service in World War I but was discharged after suffering a mental breakdown.

Accepted Answer

True. He volunteered as a driver but suffered a severe breakdown in 1915, leading to his discharge and lifelong battles with addiction and hospitalization.

Question 6

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a founding member of the German expressionist group Die Brücke.

Accepted Answer

True. Kirchner co-founded Die Brücke in Dresden in 1905 with other artists, aiming to bridge traditional art and modern expressionism.

Question 7

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's artworks were condemned as 'degenerate' by the Nazi regime and many were seized.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1937, the Nazis confiscated over 600 of Kirchner's works from museums, labeling them degenerate art.

Question 8

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner moved to Switzerland in 1917 and lived there until his death.

Accepted Answer

True. Aiming to recover his health, Kirchner relocated to Davos, Switzerland, where he remained until his suicide in 1938.

Question 9

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born in Paris, France.

Accepted Answer

False. Kirchner was born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany. He never lived in Paris, though he admired French art.

Question 10

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a prominent teacher at the Bauhaus school in Weimar.

Accepted Answer

False. Kirchner never taught at the Bauhaus. He was associated with Die Brücke, while Bauhaus had its own faculty like Klee and Kandinsky.

Question 11

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner served as a volunteer in World War I but was discharged after a mental breakdown.

Accepted Answer

True. Kirchner enlisted in 1914 but suffered a severe nervous collapse in 1915 and was later discharged from the army.

Question 12

True or false: Kirchner invented the color wheel used by modern art schools like the Bauhaus.

Accepted Answer

False. The color wheel predates Kirchner; it was developed by Newton and later refined by Itten at the Bauhaus.

Question 13

True or false: Kirchner's late works were painted entirely with his left hand after losing his right arm.

Accepted Answer

False. He never lost an arm; he used both hands throughout his career, though his motor skills declined from drug use.

Question 14

True or false: Kirchner's painting 'Street, Dresden' was banned for showing explicit nudity in public.

Accepted Answer

False. The painting features clothed figures in a city scene; nudity was common in his studio works, not this one.

Question 15

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner died of a heart attack in 1945.

Accepted Answer

False. Kirchner died by suicide in 1938 in Davos, Switzerland. His death predates 1945 and was not from a heart attack.

Question 16

True or false: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is best known for his paintings of the American Southwest.

Accepted Answer

False. Kirchner never visited America. He painted German city scenes, nudes, and Swiss Alpine landscapes, not the American Southwest.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Trivia Questions