Early Modern Art & Architecture in between the Wars

Early Modern Art & Architecture in between the Wars

Themes in Early Modern ArtThemes in Early Modern Art

1. Uncertainty/insecurity.

2. Disillusionment.

3. The subconscious.

4. Overt sexuality.

5. Violence & savagery.

The Fine Art of FeelingThe Fine Art of Feeling

German Expressionism: Background

German Expressionism: BackgroundOriginated in Dresden, Germany in the early 20th c.

Dominated German Art from 1905-30

Greatly Influence by: Post-Impressionist painters (esp. Van Gogh) Munch’s The Scream A rise in the support of the avant-garde movement Nietzsche’s Dualism (Apollonian/Dionysian)Freud’s psychoanalysis inner-drives control human behavior

Two Separate Movements:Die Brücke (“The Bridge”) Dresden (1905)Der Blau Reiter (“The Blue Rider”) Munich (1911)

Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893)Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893)

The Inspiration: Using bright

colors to express a particular emotion.

German Expressionism: Overview

German Expressionism: OverviewGOAL(S):

express artist’s feelings rather than images from real worldEvoke the subjective response an artist had toward a meaning/eventPush the boundaries of what was expected of art at the time (avant-garde)

CHARATERISTICS: Use of uncharacteristic colors to evoke emotion from the viewer as well as portray the artist’s inner visionBold colors & violent brushstrokesDistortion/Disproportion of images as well as awkward poses for figuresTwo dimensional w/ no perspective

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner:

Self-portrait as a Soldier

(1915)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner:

Self-portrait as a Soldier

(1915)

Käthe Kollwitz:

Infant Mortality(1925)

Käthe Kollwitz:

Infant Mortality(1925)

George Grosz:

Grey Day

(1921)

George Grosz:

Grey Day

(1921)

Otto Dix: The War (1925)Otto Dix: The War (1925)

Wassily Kandinsky: On White II (1923)Wassily Kandinsky: On White II (1923)

Franz Marc: Animal Destinies (1913)Franz Marc: Animal Destinies (1913)

The Anti-Art MovementThe Anti-Art Movement

Dada: BackgroundDada: BackgroundBegan in 1916 (Zurich) and ended in 1922

An international movement that claimed it was “against art” and was used to respond to the violence and irrationality of war

Meant to attack and anger the bourgeoisie because of belief that it was the mentality and actions of this class that allowed war to occur

Nihilistic wanted art to reflect the upsetting and violent world as they saw it

Art viewed as ridiculous and irrelevant

Dada: CharacteristicsDada: CharacteristicsFirst rule of Dada is there are no rules of Dada

Nonsensical drawings

Used collages & layers to confuse the “unworthy beholder”

“Ready Mades” use of mundane, everyday objects as a sense of irony

“Beginnings of Surrealism” many Dada artists went on to become members of the surrealist movement

Jean Arp:

Arrangement according to the Laws of

Chance(1916-17)

Jean Arp:

Arrangement according to the Laws of

Chance(1916-17)

Marcel Duchamp: The Fountain (1917)

Marcel Duchamp: The Fountain (1917)

Marcel Duchamp:

L.H.O.O.Q.(1919)

Marcel Duchamp:

L.H.O.O.Q.(1919)

Raoul Hausmann: Mechanical head (1920)

Raoul Hausmann: Mechanical head (1920)

Raoul Hausmann: ABCD (1924-25)Raoul Hausmann: ABCD (1924-25)

Francis Picabia:

The Cacodylic Eye

(1921)

Francis Picabia:

The Cacodylic Eye

(1921)

Art of the Unconscious MindArt of the Unconscious Mind

Surrealism: BackgroundSurrealism: Background

Flourished in Europe & the Americas in 1920s & 30s

Movement toward the liberation of the mind by placing emphasis on the unconscious

Gained momentum after the Dada Art Movement

Began as literary movement led by poet Andre Breton

Two types: AutomatismVeristic Surrealism

SurrealismSurrealism

Inspired by the new psychology of two men...

Sigmund Freud

Carl Gustav Jung

Salvador Dali: The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Salvador Dali: The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Salvador Dali: Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of a New Man

(1943)

Salvador Dali: Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of a New Man

(1943)

Salvador Dali: The Last Supper(1938)Salvador Dali: The Last Supper(1938)

Rene Magritte (1898-1967)Rene Magritte (1898-1967)

The False Mirror (1928)

The Treachery of Images(1928-9)

The Son of Man (1967)

Rene Magritte: Two Lovers (1928)Rene Magritte: Two Lovers (1928)

Joan Míro: :

Dutch Interior II (c.1920)

Joan Míro: :

Dutch Interior II (c.1920)

The International Style: Geometry to Live in

The International Style: Geometry to Live in

Walter Gropius: Bauhaus Building (1928)

Walter Gropius: Bauhaus Building (1928)

Bauhaus

A utopian quality.

Based on the idealsof simplified formsand unadornedfunctionalism.

The belief that the machine economy could deliver elegantly designed items for the masses.

Used techniques & materials employed especially in industrial fabrication & manufacture steel, concrete, chrome, glass.

Walter Gropius: Lincoln, MA house (1938)

Walter Gropius: Lincoln, MA house (1938)

Frank Lloyd Wright: Falling water (1936)Frank Lloyd Wright: Falling water (1936)

Organic Architectur

e Walls, ceilings,

& floors flow seamlessly

Rooms merge w/ each other

Architecture flows seamlessly w/ outside environment