Street Scene II
1914
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner captures the frantic pulse of the city in this scratchy, energetic sketch from 1914. As a leader of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke, he used jagged, nervous lines to convey the anxiety of modern urban life rather than a realistic snapshot. You can see figures in hats and long coats rushing past, their forms almost dissolving into the chaotic background of shop windows and crowds. It’s a vivid glimpse into a bustling Berlin street just before the outbreak of World War I changed everything.