New art museum on Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Where it all began: Schmidt-Rottluff's childhood in Chemnitz

Karl Schmidt was born in Rottluff - now a district of Chemnitz - in 1884. His parents ran a mill here. It was later sold and his parents used the proceeds to build their country house in 1913. By then, the artist was already living in Berlin.

However, the house became his refuge for several years after his apartment and studio were destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. In addition to the country house, the historic mill next door has since been renovated. He spent his childhood and youth on the site and gained his first artistic experience in the neighborhood.

Schmidt-Rottluff was a co-founder of the artists' association "Brücke", whose roots lie in Chemnitz, according to Florence Thurmes, general director of the city's art collections. His later fellow artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel also grew up in the city, while other "Brücke" members Fritz Bleyl and Max Pechstein came from nearby Zwickau. Works by these fellow artists are also on display in the new museum, which is part of the Chemnitz Art Collections.