Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff became friends while still at school. After school Heckel studied architecture, but didn't finish his studies. Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff were two of the founders of the Brucke (Bridge) group of artists in Dresden in 1905. (The others were Fritz Bleyl and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.)
Heckel was among the Expressionists who was declared degenerate by the Nazis, and his paintings confiscated.
Heckel was among the Expressionists who was declared degenerate by the Nazis, and his paintings confiscated.