Art History 225B Expressionism

Be able to discuss the motivation of Der Blaue Reiter (think about the name - what does it mean?). How is this revealed in the group's artistic production? (think: subject & style) What is the main aim that separates them from Die Brücke (and other Expressionist groups)?

"The Blue Rider" Believed that Western, industrial society was spiritually bankrupt, hoped to inaugurate a new spiritual era through art Wanted to visually express the spirituality they believed resided beneath the surface of visual world Employed color, expressive brushstroke to do so, but increasingly more abstract (especially Kandinsky)

Be able to discuss the political and social beliefs of Die Brücke (think about the name - what does it mean?). How do these beliefs affect the group's artistic production? (think: subject & style)

"The Bridge" Largely self-taught artists who sought to expose decadence and moral decline of society Rejected older forces of the establishment and support of youth. Also used color and expressive brushstroke, but now jarring, unsettling Disturbing psychological undertones. Reminds you of Munch.

Be able to compare and contrast the strains of Expressionism in France vs. Germany. (think: Matisse vs. Kirchner or Matisse vs. Kollwitz)

Expressionism in France: Color liberated from its descriptive function; conveys meaning and emotion, but still using traditional subject matter. Expressionism in Germany sought to use color and brushstroke to unsettle the viewer and became more abstract.

Why were the artists Matisse & Derain given the name "Fauve"? Think: what makes Matisse's style controversial? What is still traditional is his works and what is completely innovative and radical?

Matisse makes color the primary conveyer of meaning. He wants people to find rest and pleasure in the color of his works. Compared to Monet, who was still trying to use "realistic" colors, these artists were using wild, arbitrary, and flat colors. We began to see this in the post-impressionist movement. These pieces are shocking in color and space, but still portraying typical subject matter (portrait and landscape)

Be able to discuss how both Matisse & Kandinsky see the function of color in their artwork. Consider their own statements on the subject of color. (think: Matisse's "Notes of a Painter" & Kandinsky's "Concerning the Spiritual in Art")

Matisse used color as the primary conveyer of emotion and meaning. Kandinsky used color to appeal to other senses and was abstract. K. was interested in the psychological and spiritual response to color.

What is the formal AND the expressive effect of color in Matisse's paintings? In Matisse's Red Room for example?

Matisse was still portraying typical subject matter, but was not concerned with using natural or "realistic" colors. Colors were used for emotion. In the red room, this is a common scene, but used the flatness of the colors and the patterns to emphasize the two dimensionality.

How does Kollwitz's Expressionism differ from her German Expressionist contemporaries? How is Kollwitz expressive? Consider subject matter, style, function. How does her artwork reflect her own personal experiences and beliefs? Why does Kollwitz embrace printmaking as her artistic medium?

Rather than focusing on color or its effects, Kollowitz focused on the human form and human struggles. She used lithographs (printmaking made mass production cheaper and easier, so she could reach the masses), and her use of line and shadow creates energy, movement, and emotion.

Music greatly influenced Kandinsky. How is this revealed in his artworks such as Improvisation 28? (think: abstraction) What is Kandinsky's goal with his artwork? What does he hope to express? For the viewer to experience?

This is the title that a musician /composer would use. Kandinsky is composing with color and form. He is communicating this idea of synesthesia, a crossing of the senses, saying that you could hear the colors. Maybe not purely abstract, but rather abstracted from nature. He was afraid that if he represented things concretely, our brains would not let us respond emotionally to the colors

What types of past art and past artists influence the various Expressionist movements? What (and who) influences Kirchner's images such as Street, Dresden and Street, Berlin? How do we feel looking at this painting? Who are these people? Is this a complimentary portrayal? Point to specific formal elements to support your answer

Vivid, anti-naturalistic color with visible brush marks. His subject is not the city but is the psychological experience of the people in the city. We feel unwelcome. Most of the figures are faceless, adding to this idea of urban angst. The angle at which he paints the figures makes it seem like they are spilling out towards us, creating a claustrophobic effect. Would have been looking to artists like Munch, and the last judgement tympanum

Lithograph

a print produced by a printing process in which a smooth surface is treated so that ink will adhere only to the design to be printed

Fauvism

an early 20thc. art movement led by Matisse, for whom color became the formal element most responsible for pictorial coherence and the primary conveyer of meaning; from the French word fauve ("wild beast")

Etching

an intaglio printmaking technique in which a metal plate is covered with an acid-resistant ground and worked with an etching needle to create an image.

Salon d'Automne (Autumn Salon)

exhibition held in opposition to official Salon; 1905 Salon d'Automne witnessed the birth of Fauvism

Die Brücke

group of German Expressionist artists founded in 1905 in Dresden, of which Kirchner was a founding member; their declared goal was "to clear a path for the new German art," they would be a "bridge" (brücke) to the future

Der Blaue Reiter

group of German Expressionists based in Munich, led by Kandinsky; had more spiritual intentions than Die Brücke, hoped to inaugurate a new spiritual era through art

Fauve

meaning "wild beast", this is a person who believed color is the formal element most responsible for pictorial coherence and the primary conveyer of meaning