Expressionism, a German art movement, moved away from depiction of physical reality and sought to convey the inner feelings and emotions of the artists. Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Munch and James Ensors are the few most important precursors of Expressionism. The term "Expressionism was devised in 1910 by Czech art Historian, Antonin Matejcek as it indicates the opposite of Impressionism, while Impressionism generally focused on expressing the objective reality of the modern world, Expressionism on the other hand emphasized on communicating their inner self, subjective emotions that arouse within the artists to the viewers. The Expressionism style was developed when artists started deploying bold and vibrant colours to induce the feelings of the viewers.
The Scream At the Café Five Women on the Street 1893 1911 1913
Edvard Munch Emil Nolde Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
"What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end." -Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-85)
Die Brücke can be seen as the fountain head of German Expressionism, it was formed in 1905 before Expressionism was firmly eestablished by a group of like-minded artist in Dresden, such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, none of which had artistic backgrounds with the idea of "bridging" the past and the present, conveying the raw emotions of people in this fast-paced society, emphasizing the alienation of people and their surroundings, the lost of connection between people in the western urban settings.
Woman in the Woods, 1914
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff woodcut
Primitivism was another concept of Die Brücke, unlike the negative connotation it might have today, artists at the time admire the simplicity of life in the less developed areas, hoping to breach the intellectual western society. Expressionist used ancient techniques of printmaking that dated back to the Renaissance with modernized alterations, thus creating perhaps the most original contributions to modern art.
The Fate of the Animals Moscow I
1913 1916
Wassily Kandinsky Franz Marc
Der Blaue Reiter emerged in Munich soon after Die Brücke when Russian born Wassily Kadinsky and German artist Franz Marc broke off from the Neue Kunstler Vereiningung, or New Artist Association (N.K.V.). Paul Klee, and Auguste Macke were also closely associated with the group. Unlike their Dresden counterparts they had a more abstract approach to the concept of expressionism. Similarly, they reached back to the aspect of primitivism, however Der Blaude Reiter tend to have a more harmonious form. Later in 1910, Kadinsky published Concerning the Spiritual in Art where he argued about the spiritual transcendence through abstract, connecting visual elements such as forms and colours with inner elements of emotions and essence of music. Marc and Macke later lost their lives in the first world war, whereas other members had to leave for their home country which subsequently ended Der Blaue Reiter.
The ideas of Expressionism, on abstract art, primitivism and spirituality, groundbreaking theoretical and metaphysical view of the alienation of the present world and their ability to communicate the essence of those " inner necessities " later inspired and highly influenced successive generations of avant-garde.
References
The Art Story Contributors. ( 2017 ). Der Blaue Reiter Movement Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-der-blaue-reiter.htm
The Art Story Contributors. ( 2017 ). Die Brücke Movement Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-die-brucke.htm
Wolf, J. ( 2017 ). Expressionism Movement Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-expressionism.htm
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