Ernst Kirchner was born in Aschaffenburg in Germany and studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden from 1901 until 1905. In his last years of his study he started an art group called 'Die Brücke' (The Bridge) with other fellow students Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. The initial aim of the 'Die Brücke' artist was to free themselves from the strong traditional academic styles of that time and to find new ways of expressing themselves through art. The traditional rules of perspective and academic proportions were banned.

The 'Die Brücke' developed a vivid style based on strong colour and contorted form. This is clearly visible in Woman in a hat. The woman in the painting sits in a strong frontal and angular position, with the body pushing the edges of the frame. The brilliant colours, clearly reminiscent of works by Fauvist artists help to create a sense of emotion and energy. The flattened space brings to mind Japanese prints, another strong influence in the works of the 'Die Brücke' artist.

On the reverse of this canvas is another work by Kirchner called 'The Pledge - Hutten greets Sickingen'. Kirchner painted this work approximately 12 years after painting Woman in a hat when he lived in Switzerland, recovering from a mental and physical breakdown as a result of his military service during the First World War. After a series of these breakdowns during the last period of his life, he committed suicide in 1938 in Switzerland.

shorter edit:

Kirchner was a key artist of German Expressionism led by the group 'Die Brücke' (The Bridge), formed in 1905. Their aim was to free themselves from the strong traditional academic styles and to find new ways of expressing the social mores of the time through a subjective lens. The traditional rules of perspective and academic proportions were banned. The 'Die Brücke' developed a vivid style based on strong colour and contorted form. This is clearly visible in Woman in a hat. The brilliant colours, clearly reminiscent of works by Fauvist artists help to create a sense of emotion and energy. The flattened space brings to mind Japanese prints, another strong influence in the works of the 'Die Brücke' artist. On the reverse of this canvas is another work by Kirchner, painted approximately twelve years after Woman in a hat, when he lived in Switzerland, recovering from a mental and physical breakdown as a result of his WWI military service.