Kirchner and the Expressionist movement

Considering the context of WW1 Kirchner came back from the war scarred by the atrocities committed. The harsh reality of what war is changed his work. Kirschner and the Expressionist movement had a fascination with the childlike innocent perception of the world. They found beauty in the idea that children and the mentally disabled could not be influenced by societal programs that they viewed as oppressive. They sought out liberation and freedom from this oppression through the honest and vibrant expression in their work.