Throughout Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's career, one unifying theme emerges - the search for what he saw as unadulterated and primal. This volume explores the far-reaching influence of non-western art on Kirchner's oeuvre and the importance of his life in Davos, Switzerland, where he found a temporary peace despite the impending threat of censorship by the Nazis. Throughout the chapters of this book are reproductions of Kirchner's paintings as well as his sculptures, woodcuts, sketches, drawings, textiles, carvings, and furniture. Archival material in the form of letters and diary entries offer an unprecedented look into the artist's creative process. This study of one of the most talented and influential German Expressionist painters draws compelling conclusions about the influence of the imaginary on his work."Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) is one of the best-known painters and sculptors of German Expressionism. As co-founder of the artists' group the Brücke at the beginning of the twentieth century, he is also one of the most important artists of the avant-garde. His life and work were deeply shaped by his search for the 'exotic' and 'primordial', for foreign lands and cultures.

What resulted were brilliantly colourful, imaginative artworks in which he create foreign worlds. This book traces the stages of Kirchner's life and artistic development. It illustrates how, by synthesising a great variety of influences from non-European cultures, the artists achieved an intermingling of art, life and work that manifested itself as 'exotic' Gesamtkunstwerk not only in his work but also in his live-in studios.".