EXPRESSIONISM
Revision
Introduction
• The name Expressionism is used to refer to the German art of the early 20th century.
• This is a European phenomenon that had two branches:– The France based group developed the Fauvism – The German branch paved the way for Der Blaue
Reiter.
Phylosophy
• The name tends to reflect their opposition to the Impressionism.
• The Expressionism is a movement from the inside to the outside.
• Its attitude can be even aggressive. • The movement has something in common with the
Impressionism:– both movements are realistic and– both ask for the full compromise of the artists in the
matter of the reality.
• The expressionist are involved in their society, they do not escape from it.
History
• The first German Expressionism was born in 1905 with the movement known as Die Brüke that is related to the national figurative tradition.
• The artists understood the world as a deep existential condition of the human being: – the desire of having the reality – and the anguish of being possessed by the
reality
Die Brücke
• Die Brücke is a solid artists’ community with a written programme.
• Members of the group are:– Kirchner,– Nolde,– Schiele, – Kokoschka.
• The German situation of the time was obscure, with different artistic influences.
• Die Brücke proposed the union of the revolutionary element to fight against the Impressionism.
KirchnerNolde
Ensor
Schiele
KokoschkaMunch
Die Brücke
• Characteristics:– it is a realism that creates reality; – they begin from nothing, just from the
artist ideas; – the matter influences on the artist; – the subjects reflect daily life (streets,
people in the cafes); – the works are a bit rude
Die Brücke
• In their opinion technique is not something that can be invented, it is just work.
• It is important the dominance of graphics, especially xylography, in which the carving can be violent and the result is sometimes irregular.
• Technique:– the painting is dense, full of colour, with stains
and lack of hues; – it is more important the process than the result.
Die Brücke
• The artist works directly on the image and chooses the colours depending on their mood.
• Deformations are common and they are sometimes aggressive.
• They find their inspiration in the work of primitive cultures.
• They do not have a concept of beauty, for them it changes to be ugliness, deformity: it is the poetry of the awful
Die Brücke
• Expressionist artists renounce to be bourgeois and criticise this social group.
• In their opinion, existence is self-creation and they oppose to the industrial work that creates a dehumanized society.
• They are obsessed with the subject of sex because the relation of men and women is the basis of the society
• They consider that society– deforms, – is perverse, – is negative,– alienates.
Kirchner
• He depicted the atmosphere of cities with forms full of angles and with vivid brush-strokes
• He portrayed contradictions:– Lack of interest in
beauty– Problems of life– Sexual influence– Desire– Aims of freedom
Nolde
• Primitive forms with simbolic value
• He depicted a religious experience
• Technical characteristics:– Strong brush-stroke– Thick matter– Vivid contrast of
colours
Ensor
• Strange images full of people
• The faces of people look to be masks.
• He critisized all social classes
• Technically:– Lots of matter– He wanted to
imitate the texture of oil painting.
Schiele
• Sensuality became a sexual obsession
• Strong line symbolising the physical and moral deterioration of people.
• Colour is independent, mainly in watercolours.
• Space is a hole and symbolizes the conflict in between life and death.
Kokoschka
• Oso expressive works
• He received bad critics
• He painted a lot of portraits
• He received the influence of other artists of his time
Munch
• Characters between waves
• Areas of strong contrast
• He wanted to depict the problems of his times
• Characters appear in turmoil.
• They look to be masks.
Der Blaue Reiter• Die Brücke was dissolved in 1913 when the group Der
Blaue Reiter started its investigation with a less compromised attitude.
• Members of this group are:– Beckmann, – Dix, – Grosz, – Marc,– Macke,– Kandinsky,– Klee.
• They do not have a defined programme. And their orientation is more spiritual.
Beckmann
DixGrosz
Marc
Macke Kandinsky
Klee
Der Blaue Reiter
• Their objective is to coordinate international exhibitions to foster their polemic writings
• The ideas of the artists of this group are not revolutionary but it is anti-classicist.
• They are influenced by Matisse, oriental art and even music.
• Symbols are limited to common objects while the aesthetic communication is dominant.
Der Blaue Reiter
• Characteristics of the movement are:– importance of the colour and its
significance; – primitivism;– improvisation; – inclusion of different lines and shapes:
• curves, • zigzags,• stain;
– art is understood as communication.
Beckmann
• In many of his works handicapped bodies appear.
• Extravagant forms• He critised
governments heavily• Images in
movement, doing exercise
• He painted portraits
Dix
• He wanted to depict the disasters consequence of WWI
• Trend to objectivism
• In his work he made strong social critics
Grosz
• Influences of the war• He depicted cartoons
and other independennnnnnt projects
• Images are simplified, with strong critic
• He is a representative of the new representation
Marc
• The main characters of his works are animals
• He was quite mistic• He used colours
arbitrarily• Each colour had its symbolic value
Macke
• He integrated in the movement after knowing Kandinsky
• He received influences of other avant gard
• The influence of Delaunay’s colour can be see in hitDelaunayren kolorearen eragina ikusten da bere lanetan, batez ere eskaparateetan
Kandinsky
• He experimented with several avant-gardes
• Russian influences are aboundat
• He used vivid colours• He said that colours
are linked to music• He made the first
abstract painting
Klee
• He liked primitive art
• Although introduced in the expressionist group his work is quite special
• He was autodidactn• Colour is the most
important element of his work.