Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was a German Expressionist and Die Brücke founder known for forceful outlines, vivid color, and simplified landscapes and figures.
Painter
Erich Heckel
Erich Heckel was a German Expressionist and Die Brücke founder known for bold coastal landscapes, bathers, strong contours, and energetic color.
Erich Heckel quick facts
Heckel co-founded Die Brücke in Dresden in 1905 and painted expressive figures and landscapes, often inspired by Germany's northern coastline.
| Full name | Erich Heckel |
|---|---|
| Born | 1883 · Döbeln, Germany |
| Died | 1970 · Radolfzell, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Movements | Expressionism; Die Brücke |
| Paint types | Oil paint · Watercolor · Gouache · Tempera paint |
| Other media | Woodcut printmaking · wood sculpture |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper |
| Painting methods | Thick, spontaneous strokes and heightened color in oil; transparent watercolor washes and pencil drawing on paper |
| Common subjects | Brickworks, coastal landscapes, beach bathers, figures, trees, and villages |
| Notable works | Brickworks · Bathers on the Beach · Hirschhorn · Three Bathers |
Sources: Brücke-Museum: Heckel biography, Thyssen-Bornemisza: Brickworks, Thyssen-Bornemisza: Bathers on the Beach, Brücke-Museum: Hirschhorn (watercolor on paper), and Städel Museum on Heckel’s woodcuts and sculpture.
Paint types used by Erich Heckel
Heckel used thick, spontaneous oil strokes for Expressionist landscapes and transparent watercolor for landscapes and beach scenes on paper.
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Oil paint
Brickworks (1907) is oil on canvas, painted during Heckel’s first stay at Dangast on Germany’s North Sea coast. He used thick, loosely applied strokes and heightened reds and greens to turn the factory buildings and chimney into a strongly contrasting landscape. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum distinguishes this spontaneous handling from later, more controlled work.
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Watercolor paint
Heckel painted Hirschhorn (1905) in watercolor on paper, describing a town and river in his early Die Brücke period. Bathers on the Beach (1913), also watercolor and pencil on paper, uses transparent color to place figures against the Baltic coast. The pencil belongs to the drawing, not a second paint type.
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Gouache paint
In Mädchen mit Musikinstrument (1912), the Brücke-Museum records gouache and ink over pencil on paper. Heckel used opaque paint in a compact figure composition, distinct from the transparent watercolor landscapes in his practice. The record names gouache and preserves ink and pencil as separate drawing materials.
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Tempera paint
The Brücke-Museum catalogs Roquairol (1917) as tempera on canvas. This large Expressionist portrait documents Heckel using tempera for a finished canvas, not only for paper studies. The museum does not specify an egg binder, so “tempera” remains the precise supported term.
Sources: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: oil-on-canvas Brickworks, Brücke-Museum: watercolor Hirschhorn, and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: watercolor and pencil in Bathers on the Beach.
Painting surfaces used by Erich Heckel
Collection records document canvas and paper in Erich Heckel’s practice, and each row links a support to a named object and its recorded materials.
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Canvas
Heckel’s paintings, including Brickworks (1907) and Roquairol (1917), are documented on canvas. These records show the textile support used for both an oil landscape and a tempera portrait. Canvas works differ from the watercolor and gouache studies on paper. The catalogued works document canvas across two distinct paint media.
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Paper
Heckel’s watercolors and drawings, including Hirschhorn and Bathers on the Beach, are documented on paper. The sheet supports transparent paint and drawing media, while the Brücke-Museum also records gouache on paper in a figure composition. These works are distinct from the oil and tempera canvases.
Sources: Brücke-Museum: Heckel biography, Thyssen-Bornemisza: Brickworks, Thyssen-Bornemisza: Bathers on the Beach, Brücke-Museum: Hirschhorn (watercolor on paper).
Painters similar to Erich Heckel
Schmidt-Rottluff and Kirchner co-founded Die Brücke with Heckel, sharing bold outlines and color while pursuing distinct subjects in paintings.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German Expressionist painter and Die Brücke founder known for angular figures, vivid colors, and tense city street scenes.