Survey 7: Expressionism, Fauvism, and Early 20th Century – George Grosz (1893 – 1959)

The Eclipse of the Sun, 1926.

George Grosz was a German New Objectivity and Dadaist artist born in Berlin on July 26th, 1893. He is best known for his criticism of society through caricatures and art with themes from his experiences during WWII. Grosz’s work depicted the greed of war by capitalists and the bourgeoisie through warped caricatures of military figures and other benefactors of war. 

The way Grosz uses light and colour in his work gives each piece a dramatic and drastic feeling that exemplifies the grotesque and evil depictions of military and bourgeoisie in Grosz’s work. In Bonhams he depicts a man of the bourgeoisie who is maniacal in his facial expression and is seen chopping up meat for himself to eat while surrounded by skeletons of those who worked hard to give him the food he is greedily consuming. His work is poignant and represents the feelings of the proletariat during the German Depression. I think his work is important for understanding how the terrible conditions people lived in and how unfair the workers were treated and his work is an important part of history. I admire how he did not shy away from his subjects or themes, and he used different visual elements such as skewed perspective and caricature to get his message across.

Fairy Tale, 1942.
Remembering, 1937.
Explosion, 1917.
The Agitator, 1928.
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Degenerate Art: The Silencing of Expressionism (1905 – 1915)

Refugees and First Snow, Lee Jung Seob. 1916/1952.

Before WWI the Expressionist movement was beginning to spread throughout the arts. However, because of Hitler’s distaste and renouncing of modern art, the Expressionist movement was quickly snuffed out in Europe and the derogatory term “Degenerate Art” was placed onto these artworks.

WHAT IS EXPRESSIONISM?

Expressionism began in 1905 because of four architect students in Germany by the names of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, and Karl Schmidt Rottluff. The four of them wanted a new style of art to express themselves, including their dissatisfaction with the bourgeoisie and their desire for individuality. Expressionism reflected the artists inner feelings through abstract and exaggerated imagery with unrealistic colours and distortion. It was heavily inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and James Ensor.

Mountains at Saint-Rémy, Vincent Van Gogh. 1853.
EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS

The Expressionist movement was filled with artists who explored their abstract emotions through art. They expressed their anxiety and their desires through distorted and unrealistic imagery, often using distorted human figures.

Egon Schiele was an Austrian artist who painted nude self portraits with elongated proportions. His work was often intense and sexual.

Reclining Male Nude, Egon Schiele. 1910.

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter who painted anxious and fearful portraits depicting his own worries.

The Scream, Edvard Munch. 1893.

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter who focused on expressing music through colourful and abstract landscapes.

Blue Rider, Wassily Kandinsky. 1909.

HOW DID IT BECOME DEGENERATE ART?

As Hitler rose to power, he began to eliminate and condemn anything opposing his Nazi ideas. This included controlling the art that was accepted by the general public of Germany. He and his party organized an art exhibit in 1937 called “Degenerate Art” which showed many examples of expressionist art. This alienated and demonized the artists who created these images, causing many of them to flee Europe in fear. This caused the end of the main era of the Expressionist movement.

Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler visit the Degenerate Art Exhibition, 1937.
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