Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938) is one of the most important artist personalities of the twentieth century; many of his works have become icons of Expressionism. Vacillating between self - doubt and egocentricity, the artist created an incomparably mult i - faceted oeuvre with a remarkable instinct for the trends and imbalances of his time. Kirchner was the driving force behind and the most radical member of the artists' association "Die Brücke". He embarked on a promising career which reached a first zeni th in the expressive works of his Berlin years. His ecstatic creative impulse was the result of one of the "loneliest times of my life, in which an agonising restlessness constantly drove me out by night and day." Even after Kirchner had found a new home i n Davos in 1917, his life continued to be full of tension and marked by phases of mental instability and unbroken creative energy. Anxious to ensure the correct reception of his works, during these years Kirchner invented the art critic Louis de Marsalle a nd published reviews of his own works under this pseudonym. This colourful and fascinating artist personality is presented by Thorsten Sadowsky, the author of this volume, in a knowledgeable and lucid manner through examples of his works and the stations of his life