Expressionist artists were diverse in their
forms of work and underlying philosophies, but they shared the objective
of producing and communicating the “primal, internal aspects of
the human experience.” Most Expressionists sought to reveal emotional
and psychological states—often reflective of personal experiences.
Some developed innovative theories and symbols to convey internal and
spiritual realities.
Most Expressionists believed that they were not only revealing their
personal experience but were producing work that contributed to the renewal
of the spirit of German society. While despairing the decadence and decline
of art and culture in Wilhelmine Germany, they thought that their exposes
would “help strip away the layers of inauthentic civilization and
rejuvenate the German spirit.”
Metaphors for sickness and health frequently appear in Expressionist
works. Just as Social Darwinisn influenced political thought and action
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it also impinged
on the Expressionists. To express their fears that Wilhelmine Germany
was a maturing society in the process of decline and corruption that
threatened the survival and vitality of Germany, Expressionists depicted
human beings in various stages of illness or mental illness. Some of
the Expressionists believed that “primitive” societies in
the non-Western world represented the forces of raw nature that could
restore health to the ailing, ageing cultures of the West. Thus, the
Expressionists challenged the Euro-Centric views that dominated societies
in the West.
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Anthology Cover:
Der Almanach "Der
Blaue Reiter" (Blue Rider Almanac), München
1912 by Wassily Kandinsky (Translator), Franz Marc (Editor),
Klaus Lankheit (Designer). In May 1912 this anthology of Blue
Rider artists essays was published by the Munich Piper publishing
house. The Blue
Rider is
one of the most important
artist
communist manifestos of the 20th Century. It affected the development
of European modern art. The two editors, Wassily Kandinsky and Franz
Marc who organized Blue Rider art exhibits, demanded a new view of art
expressed through a combination of visual art, architecture, music, theatre
and non-European art. See
the Web
Museum-Paris' The Blue Rider virtual exhibit and the
Walker Art Center's Franz
Marc and the Blue Rider Exhibition.
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Wassily Kandinsky,
co-founder of The
Blue Rider and later an instructor at the Bauhaus wrote several
major essays about
art
including an essay from the Blue Rider Almanac On
the Problem of Form and later Concerning
the Spiritual In Art. |
 |
Franz Marc, co-founder
of The Blue Rider, wrote in a letter to his brother on December
3, 1991, “Kandinsky
and I [...] have left the association [Die Brücke] [...]
Now it is the two of us
who
must
continue
to
fight! The Editors
of the Der Blaue Reiter will now be the starting point
for new exhibitions. [...] We will try to become the center of
the modern
movement.”
Franz Marc and World War 1:
Several artists enlisted when World War 1 broke out and Franz Marc was one of
them. According to Art
of the First World War, "As it turns out, those painters not serving
in combat units worked, as of 1915, in the camouflage sections. The German
Franz Marc and the Frenchman André Mare perfected optical illusion techniques
which made landmarks disappear and targets unidentifiable. They were employed
in removing the last chance of pictorial representation. These painters were
actually contributing towards the defeat of their art, making unvisible the
decisive moments of the fighting."
In August 1914 Franz Marc volunteered
for the front line. Although he could not create paintings, he always carried
a sketch book with him. On August 10, 1915 he was awarded the Iron Cross
and promoted lieutenant. On March 4, 1916 he was hit in the temple
and killed by
a grenade splinter on a reconnaissance ride—on a horse—near Verdun,
France.
View the Rolland Collection's' online
video about Franz Marc (RealPlayer
required) 21 minutes.
|
 |
Photo: Blue
Rider artists, 1911. Click photo for more information.
|
Two of the most prominent associations for Expressionist artists were
Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der
Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). The Bridge which flourished
between 1905 and 1913 was not intended to be a style, but a "bridge" toward
a better future. It focused on the human form in nature and in the
urban environment.
 |
Painting: The Little
Blue Horses (Die Kleinen Blauen Pferde), Franz
Marc, 1911, oil on canvas, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.
|
Although The Blue Rider had a brief existence
between 1911 and 1913, it took on more diverse themes
than The Bridge. Both
groups disbanded in 1913, but many of the artists involved with
the movement continued their work into the 1930s.
By the end of World War I, Expressionism was firmly established in
German culture and Expressionists’ works appeared in many German
museums. While some of the young artists in the Republic regarded Expressionism
as romantic and out of step with the times, the styles and techniques
developed by Expressionist artists have continued to impact the art world
into the 21st century.
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