This exhibition, remarkable in many respects, was accompanied by a 38-page catalog with original woodcuts that clearly reflect the group’s increased self-confidence. The new interpretation and the way they saw their pictorial motifs, the special German form of Expressionism, later called "Brüclke“ style" is presented to visitors of this exhibition in a manner that is very cohesive in terms of appearance. What is special and unusual about this catalog are not only the fourteen full-page original woodcuts, which show some of the exhibited works as a substitute for expensive photographic reproductions. In addition, it is noteworthy that the introductory text and the following list of catalog numbers were set off in a typeface adapted to the woodcut, while the list in the appendix that mentions current passive members of the artist group was also cut in wood by Kirchner. The fact that most of the woodcuts were executed by a different member of the group and thus by a different artistic temperament than the paintings on display is a sign of the close ties between the artists. They are not only an expression of a congenial understanding for the respective pictures of the painter friends, but also show how closely graphic art and painting lie together in terms of artistic expression. The woodcut is a graphic counterpart to painting, which is characterized by unbroken areas of color. Its technique concentrates the expressive power of painting in the black and white contrast and summarizes the essence of the artistic statement of the paintings.
The title page of the catalog is adorned with a woodcut by Erich Heckel based on the motif Kirchner designed for the exhibition poster: a seated nude girl holds a small sculpture in her left hand, probably also by Kirchner. Sculptures are not listed in the catalog, but a historical photograph of the exhibition room reveals a number of works spread out on the mantel. (Detail fig.)
The introductory text to the exhibition, describing the need for the founding of the "Brücke" and giving a brief account of the activities of the past year and the addition of patrons and friends, is adorned by a small woodcut vignette by Kirchner, "Rudernde Samoanerin" (Rowing Samoan Woman). (Fig.)
This print illustrates the "Brücke's" preoccupation non-European cultures at the time. In a letter to Heckel dated March 31, 1910, Kirchner wrote: "Here (Dresden) the ethnological museum is open again, only a small part, but still a recreation and pleasure to see the fabulous bronzes from Benin, some things of the Pueblos from Mexico are still exhibited and some Negro sculptures [..] A circus is back and Samoans, Negroes, etc. will come to the zoo this summer." This is followed by two more woodcuts by Kirchner, "Mann und Frau" and "Badende," which are not part of the exhibited paintings.
The list of exhibited works begins with two works by Cuno Amiet, who is the only one to show paintings only. Otto Mueller as guest also exhibits just two paintings and three additional drawings, while the founding members participate with twenty works each. In total, the catalog lists 87 numbers: Paintings, watercolors, drawings, woodcuts, lithographs, and etchings by Cuno Amiet, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Hermann Max Pechstein, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Otto Mueller. The majority of the paintings can be traced or their whereabouts clarified. More problematic, however, is the assignment of the drawings in question to the titles listed in the catalog. The exhibition catalog ends with Kirchner's list of passive members and patrons of the "Brücke" in chronological order of their joining. First of all, it is striking that the first members are not from Dresden, including Ada Nolde, who probably joined at the same time as her husband became an active member in 1906. She was still a member in 1910, although her husband had already left the group as an active member in 1908. The first member was the Dresden lamp manufacturer Karl Max Seifert. He made the showrooms of his lamp collection available to the "Brücke" for the first extensive exhibition in Dresden in the fall of 1906.
Another early Dresden member was Otto Gußmann, an academy professor and Pechstein's teacher. Of the founding members, Pechstein was the only one to study at an art academy. Heckel, Kirchner and Schmidt-Rottluff had studied architecture in Dresden before deciding to devote themselves entirely to painting. Important patrons and, above all, collectors from Hamburg signed the list. For example, the district court president Gustav Schiefler, who had a close relationship with Schmidt-Rottluff since 1906. He was an expert in the field of printmaking and compiled the oeuvre catalogs for Munch, Nolde and Kirchner in the mid-1920s.
Meeting the young art historian Rosa Schapire was beneficial not only for Schmidt-Rottluff. In 1908, Martha Rauert joined the group and in the years to come, together with her husband Paul Rauert, compiled an extraordinary collection of the "Brücke" artists. Kirchner's father, Ernst Kirchner, professor of paper research at the Gewerbeakademie in Chemnitz, also became a passive member in 1908. Right behind Kirchner we find the name of Harry Graf Kessler from Weimar, who brought this extensive exhibition to the Grand Ducal Museum of Arts and Crafts in Weimar in 1910. (Fig.) [MvL]