Zurich

1925

Albert Müller and the Rot-Blau group

In 1925 Kirchner became close friends with the painter Albert Müller and his family; the founders of the Basel group Rot-Blau (“Red-Blue”) — Hermann Scherer, Albert Müller, Paul Camenisch and Hans Schiess — visited him and worked under his guidance.

1925–1926

Declines to found a new group

In Berlin Kirchner met Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, who wanted him to form a new artists’ group; Kirchner politely refused.

1925–1926

A trip to Germany: Frankfurt, Chemnitz, Berlin

At the end of 1925 Kirchner went to Germany, visiting Frankfurt, Chemnitz, where his mother lived, and Berlin. Back in Frauenkirch he wrote to Dr. Hagemann in March 1926 that he was glad to see the old pictures by Rembrandt and Dürer again, while of the moderns hardly anything had gripped him.

1926–1927

Death of Albert Müller and a memorial exhibition

In December 1926 Kirchner’s close friend Albert Müller died of typhoid fever together with his wife Anni; in 1927 Kirchner organised a memorial exhibition for Müller at the Kunsthalle Basel.

1927

A major exhibition in the Davos schoolhouse

In 1927 a major exhibition of Kirchner’s work was held in the schoolhouse in Davos, with positive reviews.