Expressionism Early 20 th Century

Questions What was the Expressionists’ aims and philosophies about what art should achieve? What kinds of subjects and themes were re- occurring in this movement of art? What kinds of methods and techniques were used in Expressionist work? What are 3 elements and 3 principles that are obvious in the Expressionist work? What visual tools did the Expressionists use to convey meaning?

eXPRESSIONISM A DEFINITION artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person. The artist accomplishes this aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy and through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal elements. In a broader sense Expressionism is one of the main currents of art in the later 19th and the 20th centuries, and its qualities of highly subjective, personal, spontaneous self-expression are typical of a wide range of modern artists and art movements. Expressionism can also be seen as a permanent tendency in Germanic and Nordic art from at least the European Middle Ages, particularly in times of social change or spiritual crisis, and in this sense it forms the converse of the rationalist and classicizing tendencies of Italy and later of France

Origins and philosophy Surfaced first in Europe (particularly Paris and Germany) Stresses the Artists’ emotional attitude about self and the world. Primary concern is the Human Community. Between 1901 and 06 Comprehensive exhibitions of Van Gogh, Gaugin and Cezanne kicked off a more public exposure to heightened self expression and colour in painting. Encompassess sub-movements such as the French Expressionists,The Fauves(wild beasts) and German Expressionist Groups Die Brucke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) Images – Top – Still life with Onions, Cezanne. Bottom – The Yellow Christ, Gaugin. Ref – History of Art, 5 th Edition, Janson & Janson,

Often Considered to be a very German focussed movement. Had the longest life span here. Was evidence of an enthusiasm for French modern art at the time to 1920 marks the most obvious apperance and influence of the Expressionist Style. “An expression of a certain awareness of life among the younger generation, whose common bond was no more that their rejection of dominant and political structures.” A Utopian Opposite of a society contolled by industry and conservative politics. Heavily influence by war. Was seen as a destruction of the ancient order in early stages of WW1, then morphing into a critisicism of the horrors that war created as is dragged on. Reference – Expressionism, Dietmar Elger.

Edvard Munch Almost a precorsor to Expressionism along with artists such as Klimt, Ensor and Redon Munch was chiefly concerned with his own existential drama: 'My art', he declared, 'is rooted in a single reflection: why am I not as others are? Why was there a curse on my cradle? Why did I come into the world without any choice?', adding 'My art gives meaning to my life'. Thus he considered his entire work as a single entity: The Frieze of Life. The frieze was manifestly an expression of anxiety (for example, in The Scream) but also of tender pathos: of the 'dance of life'.

Madonna, 1902 The Scream, 1893 I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun set. I felt a tinge of melancholy. Suddenly the sky became a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, dead tired, and I looked at the flaming clouds that hung like blood and a sword over the blue-black fjord of the city. My friends walked on. I stood there, trembling with fright. And I felt a loud, unending scream piercing nature.

The Dance of Life, 1899

The Fauves Artists influenced by Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Cezanne Works first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1905 Van Gogh—”Instead of trying to render what I see before me, I use color in a completely arbitrary way to express myself powerfully” Color as an emotional force. Artists who participated included Matisse, Roualt, Derain, Dufy, Braque.

Henri Matisse ( ) Student of Moreau Started out as a lawyer Influenced by post- imps and Japanese art Friend and rival of Picasso The Green Stripe, 1905 The Red Room, 1908

André Derain ( )

Die Brucke, 1905 Founders were Fitz Bleyl, Ersnt Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt Rutloff in Dresden. Also included Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller. Favourite themes were man in the natural environment, nudes, reflecting ideas of the unspoilt facets of life. Characteristics show influence of layers of impressionist thick painterly brushtrokes, but later found adding thinners to paint let them work quicker, with broad and smoother brush or palette knife strokes. Contrast and tension between complementary colours. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Heckel & Schmidt-Rottluff Erich Heckel Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Der Blaue Reiter Seen as opposed to Die Brucke group. Munich based, and as more individual artists. Included Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc as major players who published Almanacs for the group. Also included the artists Gabriel Munter, August Macke, Heinrich Campendonk, Paul Klee and Delaunay. Aims to integrate impressions of the outside world and also the inner world. Illustrations in the almanac were aimed to be as confrontational and enlightening as possible. Modefenster, Macke, 1913

Vasily Kandinsky’s use of the horse-and-rider motif symbolized his crusade against conventional aesthetic values and his dream of a better, more spiritual future through the transformative powers of art. The rider is featured in many woodcuts, temperas, and oils, from its first appearance in the artist’s folk-inspired paintings, executed in his native Russia at the turn of the century, to his abstracted landscapes made in Munich during the early 1910s. The horseman was also incorporated into the cover designs for Kandinsky’s theoretical manifesto of 1911, On the Spiritual in Art, and the contemporaneous Blue Rider Almanac, which he coedited with Franz Marc.Franz Marc Blue Mountain, 1908

Wassily Kandinsky ( ) Russian-born Worked in Munich Formed Der Blaue Reiter with Franz Marc Published a book with articles by other Expressionist artists and musicians Working toward pure abstraction Pieces have musical relationships Father of “pure abstraction” Works are spiritual and based in myth/folk tales Kandinsky—”Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. Painting with White Border, 1913

Improvisation No. 30 (Cannons), 1913 Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle), 1913 On White II, 1923

Franz Marc ( ) Born in Munich, Germany “I am trying to intensify my feeling for the organic rhythm of all things, to achieve pantheistic empathy with the throbbing and flowing of nature's bloodstream in trees, in animals, in the air.” Turned to nature for spiritual redemption “People with their lack of piety, especially men, never touched my true feelings. But animals with their virginal sense of life awakened all that was good in me.” Killed by shell fragments in 1916 during WWI

Colour as Emotion “Blue is the male principle, astringent and spiritual. Yellow is the female principle, gentle, gay and spiritual. Red is matter, brutal and heavy and always the color to be opposed and overcome by the other two.” “Black is like the silence of the body after death, the close of life.” Colors very symbolic

Paul Klee Swiss-born Also interested in the spiritual in art Interested in children’s art and primitive art “Do not laugh, reader! Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in their having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples they furnish us....” desire to paint “as though newborn, knowing absolutely nothing about Europe” Believed art, music, and writing were the same Grew up in a musical family, played the violin Experimental materials

Way to the Citadel 1937

Arrival of the Jugglers, 1926, oil on cardboard Picture Album, 1937, oil on canvas Tree Nursery, 1929

Pain and suffering “ …Actually I'm not revolutionary but rather evolutionary. Since I am an artist associated with the working class and revolution and feel myself being pushed more and more into this position, I am afraid not to continue to act in this role…. But I am now in my fifties, I've lived through the war and have seen Peter and thousands of other young men die. I am horrified and deeply shocked by all the hatred that exists in our world. I long for a Socialism that lets people live." Kathe Kollwitz ( ) Survivors Mothers, 1922

Otto Dix Stormtroops Advancing Under Gas', etching and aquatint by Otto Dix, 1924

Oskar Kokoschka Bride of the Wind,

Using the elements and principles to create meaning Paul Klee’s way to the citadel uses a number of art elements and principles. One of the most noticable is shape. We can see the painting is broken up into a number of geometric shapes with strong outlines. Given that the painting seems to be a pathway to a location, we could say the shape in this painting helps to emulate the birds eye view of a town. The crystalized form of the shapes working together look like rooftops. Another element that is used is colour. This again reminds us of a city, with the terracotta type colour perhaps being used to refer to roof tiles. Repetition is an obvious principle being used. We see similar shapes being use over and over again to create a sense of the city being built up, and creating a space that feels crowded and busy.

Homework Find two Expressionist artworks from different artists. Write a paragraph for 3 different elements and/or principles you think contribute to meaning in the work. Put into a word document and hand in by Friday.