Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was born in Aschaffenburg. In 1901 he began to study architecture at the Technical University of Dresden, during the winter semester 1903/1904 he studied in Munich and graduated in 1905. In June 1905, together with Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Fritz Bleyl, he founded the group of artists known as "Die Brücke" (The Bridge). Cuno Amiet, Max Pechstein, Emil Nolde and Ott Müller later also belonged to that group. In 1911 Kirchner and other artists of "Die Brücke" moved to Berlin. In the following year Franc Marc included works by "Die Brücke" in his exhibition of "Der Blaue Reiter"; this led to a close connection between the artists' groups. In 1913, "Die Brücke" was dissolved. Kirchner's health was ruined while he served with the field artillery (1914/15). Mental and physical breakdowns were the consequence and led to several stays at the sanatorium of Königstein. In 1917 Kirchner suffered serious injuries in a car accident. In the following year he settled at Frauenkirch near Davos. In 1925/26 and 1929 he traveled to Germany. Around the middle of the thirties his physical and mental condition deteriorated. After being defamed in Germany as a "decadent" artist and after several of his works were confiscated in 1937, Kirchner committed suicide on a mountain pasture near Frauenkirch on 15 June 1938.