New museum for Karl Schmidt-Rottluff - in his childhood home

The former family home of painter and "Brücke" co-founder Karl Schmidt-Rottluff has been extensively renovated - and is now a museum. An exhibition is dedicated to the life of the artist (1884-1976) and the early history of Expressionism in Chemnitz. On display are works of art, facsimiles and documents, wooden, stone and decorative objects as well as private items such as a tobacco pipe by Schmidt-Rottluff.

The expressionist's childhood home, which was once left to decay, was restored for around 3.5 million euros as part of the European Capital of Culture 2025 project.

Opening ceremony

The new artists' museum was to be opened with a ceremony this Sunday. Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) said that an outstanding artist whose work was ostracized by the National Socialists would be celebrated.

Schmidt-Rottluff, who is now one of the most important representatives of Expressionism in Germany, was born Karl Schmidt in Rottluff near Chemnitz in 1884. His parents ran a mill there. After leaving school, he went to Dresden to study architecture.

In 1905, right at the beginning, he founded the "Brücke" artists' group with his three fellow students Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Bleyl and Erich Heckel. And he added the name of his birthplace to his surname. This is now a district of Chemnitz.