An exhibition of works by German expressionist artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner has opened in Berlin. It follows his development as an artist in the early 20th century and includes photographs taken in his studio.

This painting, called 'Bathers on the Beach' is considered one of the great masterpieces of German expressionism.

It was painted in 1913 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and now greets visitors to a solo exhibition of his work at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in the German capital.

The thick and fast brush strokes, the vibrant colours and the everyday motif is typical of Kirchner's works.

In another painting, depicting Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin, the style is used on a city setting.

Two women stare at the artist, and viewer, as the bustling city life takes form behind them.

It is rushed, exciting and unmistakably Kirchner.

Kirchner was born in 1880 and initially studied architecture. But it was when he founded the artist group 'Die Brueke' (The Bridge) in 1905 that art took over his life.

The collective became one of the most important group of artists in the development of expressionism, a type of painting that focuses on the expression of the artist, rather than the 'impressions' reflected in French Impressionism.

"Kirchner counts as one of the most important German artists of the classic modern era. He was a member of the 'Die Brueke' artist collective in the 1920s. In this exhibition we show all the works from him that belong to the National Gallery, very important paintings, spanning from his early period until the late works," said Udo Kittelmann, director of Germany National Gallery.

Kirchner started his life as an artist in Dresden, but in 1911 he and the rest of the collective moved to Berlin.

Here he depicted urban life: prostitutes in bars, men rushing down the street to important meetings, the outcasts on the street corners.

But he also spent the summer months on the Baltic Coast, depicting swimmers and bathers.

The exhibition also shows a number of photographs taken by Kirchner himself.

They gave a view of bohemian life in Europe in early 20th century.

Kirchner often used the photos as studies for his paintings, according to Kittelmann:

"What you can also see in this exhibition is something that has never been reflected over the years, how important his own photographs were when creating his own paintings and the atmosphere of his own paintings," said Udo Kittelmann.

The paintings take up most of the space in the exhibition, but there are also a number of wooden sculptures.

The 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: hieroglyphics' exhibition runs until 26 February 2017.