Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (May 6, 1880 – June 15, 1938) is a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in twentieth-century art.

He volunteers for army service in the Great War, but soon suffers a breakdown and is discharged.

In 1933, his work is branded as "degenerate" by the Nazis and in 1937, over six hundred of his works are sold or destroyed'

In 1938, he commits suicide by gunshot.