Fritz Bleyl

Hilmar Friedrich Wilhelm Bleyl, known as Fritz Bleyl (8 October 1880 – 19 August 1966), was a German artist of the Expressionist school, and one of the four founders of artist group Die Brücke ("The Bridge"). He designed graphics for the group including, for their first show, a poster, which was banned by the police. He left the group after only two years, when he married, to look after his family, and did not exhibit publicly thereafter.

Life and work Fritz Bleyl was born in Zwickau, Kingdom of Saxony, and grew up in the Erzgebirge region. In 1901 he began studying architecture at the Königliche Technische Hochschule (technical university) of Dresden, as his parents wished; however, his own desire was to become a painter. The institution provided a wide range of studies in addition to architecture, such as freehand drawing, perspective drawing and the historical study of art.

Bleyl became close friends with fellow student, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, whom he met during the first term. They discussed art together and also studied nature,

In 1905, Bleyl along with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and two other architecture students, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Erich Heckel, founded the artists group Die Brücke ("The Bridge"). The group aimed to eschew the prevalent traditional academic style and find a new mode of artistic expression, which would form a bridge (hence the name) between the past and the present. At this time, Bleyl was a keen member of the group.

The group composed a manifesto (mostly Kirchner's work), which was carved on wood and asserted a new generation, "who want freedom in our work and in our lives, independence from older, established forces." and travelled in Italy and through the Alps. For the rest of his life, he continued to teach and to practise as an architect. He also continued with graphic work, but kept out of public gaze and did not have exhibitions. Die Brücke organised touring exhibitions, where the same work would be shown again in a different venue. I Print Collection, Kunsthalle Beyer & Sohn gallery, Leipzig, November 1905 July 1906, August Dörbant Art Salon, Braunschweig I Print Collection 1906–1907, Georg Hulbe Kunstgewerbehaus, Hamburg, September 1906 Seifert Lamp Factory, Dresden-Löbtau, 24 September – end October 1906 I Print Collection 1906–1907, Katharinenhof gallery, Frankfurt am Main, November 1906 II Print Collection 1906–19076, Städtische Vorbildersammlung, Chemnitz, December 190 Seifert Lamp Factory, Dresden-Löbtau, 3 December – end January 1907 I Print Collection 1906–1907, Friedrich Cohen Art Salon, Bonn, February 1907 II Print Collection 1906–1907, Zwickau Kunstverein, Zwickau, January – February 1907 I Print Collection 1906–1907, Wilhelm Werner Art Salon, Göttingen, March – April 1907 II Print Collection 1906–1907, Otto Fischer Art Salon, Bielefeld, March 1905 II Print Collection 1906–1907, Düsseldorf Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, April 1907 I Print Collection 1906–1907, Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren, June 1907 II Print Collection 1906–1907, Heidelberg Kunstverein, Heidelberg, June 1907 II Painting and Print Exhibition, Flensburg Gewerbemuseum, Flensburg, June 1907 II Print Collection 1906–1907, Würrtemberg Kunstverein, Stuttgart, July 1907 I Print Collection 1906–1907, Pfälzischer Kunstverein, Speyer, August 1907 II Painting and Print Exhibition, Clematis Art Salon, Hamburg, July – August 1907 II Painting and Print Exhibition, Emil Richter Art Salon, Dresden, September 1907 I Print Collection 1906–1907, XV Kunstverein Exhibition, Rosenheim, October 1907 II Painting and Print Exhibition, Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Magdeburg, October 1907