Works of Egyptian and Coptic Art as a Source of Inspiration for German Expressionism

<p>Whereas much has been written about the influence of so-called primitive (especially African and Oceanian) sculpture as well as early buddhist paintings from Ajanta (India) on the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and other members of the ?Brücke?, it had escaped notice until now that objects from Pharaonic and Coptic Egypt played a significant role during several stages of his artistic uvre as well. By identifying the models of several (in many cases unpublished) scetches of Kirchner within the collections of Egyptian and Coptic antiquities at Berlin and by demonstrating the influence of Ancient Egyptian principles of two-dimensional representation on some of his major works, new insights into Kirchner s perception of non-classical art become possible.</p>
<p>For the future, an exhibition bringing together pieces of Egyptian as well as Coptic Art with avant-gardist works of the early 20th century is planned.</p>