As the artists associated with the German Romantic tradition did before, the Expressionists sought inspiration and comfort in nature. In 1905 in Dresden, a group of artists aiming to create a bridge between past and present formed Die Brücke (The Bridge). Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff were part of the original group; Otto Mueller and Emil Nolde joined them later. The Expressionists emphasized the expressive properties of pictorial form to explore subjective emotions and inner psychological truths. In their revival of German heritage, they also resurrected the art of printmaking, especially the medium of woodcuts, before their dissolution in the year 1913.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Bathers Throwing Reeds, 1909
Color woodcut, 40 x 54 cm
Kunsthalle Bremen - Der Kunstverein in Bremen.
Gift, from a private collection, Bremen, 1973