EXPRESSIONISM& DIE NEUESACHLICHKEIT

EXPRESSIONISMGermany 1905-1920.

Many art forms

Focused on the importance of artists’ emotions

Strictly visual communication of feelings

Influences by Fauves

Roots of Expressionism

come from Vincent Van Gough, Edvard Munch,

& James Ensor

Influenced first phase of Expressionism

Started by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

formed German artist group, Die Brucke (The Bridge)

VINCENT VAN GOUGHEDVARD MUNCH& JAMES ENSORExtremely influential artists for expressionism.

Vincent van Gogh: Church at Auvers-sur-Oise, oil on canvas, 940×740 mm, 1890 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay); Photo credit: Scala/Art Resource, NY

Edvard Munch: Ashes, oil and tempera on canvas, 1.21×1.41 m, 1894 (Oslo, Nasjonalgalleri); © 2007 The Munch Museum/The Munch–Ellingsen Group/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo credit: Scala/Art Resource, NY

James Ensor: The Intrigue, oil on canvas, 903×1500 mm, 1890 (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten); © 2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SABAM, Brussels, photo credit: Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

(Central Germany, 1905)

Founded by four architecture students:

Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

1906, they held first group exhibition

Artists aimed to encompass all life

1910 the group was soon able to exhibit throughout Germany.

Worked as a group for better organization and unity for exhibitions

Not only using painting, used woodcuts, engravings and lithographs

All their themes expressed the human state prior to WWI

The role of the artist in society was also altered

Expressionist artist’s image as adestroyer of traditional values.

Group Broke up, members devoloped individual styles

Essential catalyst for German Expressionism

DIE BRUCKE

(1880-1938)

German painter, printmaker and sculptor

One of the most important representatives of Expressionism

Leading figure of Die Brucke

ERNST LUDWIGKIRCHNER

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Street, Dresden, oil on canvas, 1.51×2.00 m, 1908 (dated 1907) (New York, Museum of Modern Art); © by Ingeborg & Dr. Wolfgang Henze-Ketterer, Wichtrach/Bern, photo © Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF & ERICH HECKLE

Other influential artists in Die Brucke

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (German, Rottluff near Chemnitz 1884 - 1976 West Berlin) Footpath (Parkweg), 1911Signed and dated lower right corner: S. Rottluff, 1911; signed on back of top stretcher: Schmidt-Rottluff, Parkweg, Oelgem Oil on canvas 30 1/4 x 33 1/4 in. (76.8 x 84.5 cm) Gift of the estate of W. R. Valentiner, 1964AM 1964.38

Erich Heckel: Franzi Reclining, colour woodcut, 354×556 mm, 1910 (New York, Museum of Modern Art); © 2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, photo © Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

(Southern Germany, 1911)

1909 the Neue Kunstlerverenigung Munchen (NKVM) formed

The organization held two exhibitions, third exhibition (1911) was rejected

Kandinsky, Münter, Marc and Kubin resigned

They planned the next exhibition, Blaue Rieter (Blue Horse Rider)

Members included:

Vasily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele Münter ,Alfred Kubin,

Paul Klee & August Macke

Kandinsky prefaced their first group show’s catalogue

Attracted surprisingly strong support from artists,

Hans Arp & Paul Klee

Second exhibition devoted exclusively to graphic works

BLAUE RIETER

Main artists include: 

Klee, Kubin, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Emil Nolde,

Max Pechstein, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner & Erich Heckel

Emphasized qualities of primitive art

Both produced an almost entirely negative response from critics

Despite resistance, exhibition toured Germany

Almanac was produced in 1912, Entitled Der Blaue Reiter

edited by Kandinsky and Marc,

Contained essays written by artists on subjects related to the fine arts

Artists had common desire of expressing spiritual truths through art.

Influenced by Futurism, Fauvism and Cubism

1918 World War I ended Blaue Reiter

BLAUE RIETER

(1866-1944)

Russian painter, printmaker, stage designer, decorative artist and theorist

A central figure in the development of 20th-century art

Pushed the transition from representational to abstract art

VASILY KANDINKSY

Vasily Kandinsky: Composition VII, oil on canvas, 2.03×4.63 m, 1913 (Moscow, Tret’yakov Gallery); © 2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Mainly painting, but also by graphic art in particular, woodcuts

Etching and lithography also played a strong role in Expressionism

MEDIUMS

Erich Heckle. Portrait of a Man. 1919. Woodcut, 18 X 12 7/8”

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Has Not Christ Appeared To You? 1918. Woodcut, 19 3/4 X 15 1/4”

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Cover of 4th Annual Porfolio of the Brucke. 1909. Woodcut

(New Objectivity,1920 -1933)

Characterized by the refutation of Expressionism

Stylistically diverse, had no theoretical basis or manifesto

Mood conditioned by experience of WWI

Frequently characterized by a satirical social realism

Emotions of war a recurrent theme

Reaction to the past, to patriotism and to grand gestures

Unsentimental, cold factual view of reality

Centers of the movement in:

Berlin, Dresden, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Düsseldorf,

Hannover & Munich

DIE NEUESACHLICHKEIT

(New Objectivity,1920 -1933)

Never joined into groups or formed a school

Scattered throughout the country

The term was first applied to these various artists by Gustav F. Hartlaub

Hartlaub exhibited the artists whom

Saw as the successors of the fading Expressionism

Believed the new look pointed towards the future of German art in the 1920s

Styles came from very different social classes

Two main sides, ‘verists’ and ‘classicists’

DIE NEUESACHLICHKEIT

(Southern Germany, 1911)

Verists included:

Beckmann, Dix, Grosz, Christian Schad, Karl Hubbuch,

Rudolf Schlichter & Georg Scholz

Had originally been involved with Dada

Saw themselves as moralists

Their social criticism led to a mode of representation heightened to caricature

Opposed romanticizing reality

VERISTS

(New Objectivity,1920 -1933)

Characterized by the refutation of Expressionism

Stylistically diverse, had no theoretical basis or manifesto

Mood conditioned by experience of WWI

Frequently characterized by a satirical social realism

Emotions of war a recurrent theme

Reaction to the past, to patriotism and to grand gestures

Unsentimental, cold factual view of reality

Centers of the movement in:

Berlin, Dresden, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Düsseldorf,

Hannover & Munich

(Southern Germany, 1911)

Classicists included:

Kanoldt, Schrimpf, Franz Lenk, Carl Grossberg, Anton Räderscheidt

Same direction as verists, but it had a stronger party-political motivation

Most were affiliated to the Communist party

Saw human being as ‘the revolutionary subject of history

Depictions of working-class life often represented

Portrayed reality with romanticizing the imagery of people and landscapes

CLASSICISTS

Artists were united by a rejection of the distortions of Expressionism

Their attitude was expressed by Beckmann in 1918

Reproduced objective reality at time when abstract art was rising

Stylistically Influenced by the early Netherlandish, Italian and German artists

A precise craft technique was practiced

The paintings reconstruct reality rather than simply copy

Emphasized dark aspects of life

Such drastic social changes began affecting movement

A diverse movement

The movement finally dissolved in 1933 due to Nazi pressure

DIE NEUESACHLICHKEIT

(1891-1969)

German painter and printmaker

Studied at the

Dresden School of Arts and Crafts

Influenced by Expressionists

Served in the First World War

Moved from Dadaism towards the

greater realism of Neue Sachlichkeit

Work exemplified war horrors

OTTO DIX

Otto Dix: The Skat Players - Card Playing War Invalids, oil and collage on canvas, 1100×87o mm, 1920 (Berlin, Neue National-galerie); © 2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

CHRISTIAN SCHAD& GEORGE GROSZ

Other influential artists in Neue Sachlichkeit

Christian Schad: Count St Genois d’Anneaucourt, oil on canvas, 1030×810 mm, 1927 (Paris, Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne); © 2007 Christian Schad Stiftung Aschaffenburg/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, photo credit: CNAC/MNAM/Dist. Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

George Grosz: Max Herrmann-Neisse, oil on canvas, 594×740 mm, 1927 (New York, Museum of Modern Art); © Estate of George Grosz/Licensed by VAGA, NY, http://www.vagarights.com, photo © Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

Brought about the importance of expressing character in work

Promoted the move towards abstraction and influenced illustration

Qualities similar to those of these movements can present thoughts and feeling

Good design conveys a message

Propelled by expressive qualities

The movements relate our reasons for art and design

Graphic design needs expression

RELEVANCY

Artists were united by a rejection of the distortions of Expressionism

Their attitude was expressed by Beckmann in 1918

Reproduced objective reality at time when abstract art was rising

Stylistically Influenced by the early Netherlandish, Italian and German artists

A precise craft technique was practiced

The paintings reconstruct reality rather than simply copy

Emphasized dark aspects of life

Such drastic social changes began affecting movement

A diverse movement

The movement finally dissolved in 1933 due to Nazi pressure

THE END.