The fascination of the "Brücke" artists for non-European art and cultures can be seen in numerous works from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection. With the opening of the first natural history museums in Europe around 1900, it was henceforth easier for the artists to deal with corresponding exhibits, especially from Africa but also from Oceania as well as North and South America. What fascinated them about this art was its supposed untouchedness and originality, which were not based on their own social and academic values. Some artists even began to collect non-European objects themselves. Kirchner, for example, owned, among other things, a collection of Egyptian drawings in addition to pieces of furniture originating from Africa, although he never traveled to these countries. The "Brücke" members used these objects as a source of inspiration to develop new means of expression and a new formal language, which they felt was necessary, a language far from the representational conventions of European art production. As a result, they created their own carved woodworks, as well as paintings and prints inspired by these cultures and their objects. The caryatid stool offered here in its fine and elaborate design is just such an object that could have served as a source of inspiration for the artists of the "Brücke". In Hermann Gerlinger's collection, objects such as this and works by "Brücke" members, which testify to the fascination and profound engagement with objects from distant cultures, come together in an impressive way. [AM]