German Expressionist Woodcuts (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)

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The prime example is Robert Wiene's dream-like film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) which is universally recognized as an early classic of Expressionist cinema. Hermann Warm, the film's art director, worked with painters and stage designers Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig to create fantastic, nightmarish sets with twisted structures and landscapes with sharp-pointed forms and oblique, curving lines. Some of these designs were constructions, others were painted directly onto canvases. Landau and Parshall, The Renaissance Print, pp. 179–202; 273–81 & passim; Yale, 1996, ISBN 0-300-06883-2 It is not until 1947 that Rouault was able to finally settle his legal case against the Vollard estate. He had successfully sued Vollard's heirs for the return of some 800 paintings, claiming that they were unfinished and that his reputation as a painter would be damaged by their sale in an unfinished state. The court decided that the painter was the rightful owner of his own paintings - "provided that he had not given them away of his own volition" - and he secured the return of over 700 unfinished paintings. A year later, before a public notary, Rouault burnt 315 unfinished works that he felt he could no longer complete. He would burn more works a few years later. For the artist, it seems, the trial was a moral more than a material triumph.

German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic immediately following the First World War not only encapsulate the sociopolitical contexts in which they were created, but also rework the intrinsically modern problems of self-reflexivity, spectacle and identity. Artists, notably Edvard Munch and Franz Masereel, continued to use the medium, which in Modernism came to appeal because it was relatively easy to complete the whole process, including printing, in a studio with little special equipment. The German Expressionists used woodcut a good deal.

Used printmaking as a means for radically simplifying and flattening compositions. Made more than one thousand prints over career, almost three-quarters between 1903 and 1923; most were self-printed in small editions, although after 1910 collaborated on occasion with Berlin-based publishers, including Paul Cassirer, Fritz Gurlitt, and J. B. Neumann. Reprinted some early woodcuts in 1950s. German silent cinema was arguably far ahead of Hollywood during the same period. [8] Cinema outside Germany benefited both from the emigration of German film makers and from German expressionist developments in style and technique that were apparent on the screen. The new look and techniques impressed other contemporary film makers, artists and cinematographers, and they began to incorporate the new style into their work. This is why woodcuts are sometimes described by museums or books as "designed by" rather than "by" an artist; but most authorities do not use this distinction. The division of labour had the advantage that a trained artist could adapt to the medium relatively easily, without needing to learn the use of woodworking tools. Aged eighteen, Rouault enrolled in the School of Fine Arts in Paris. Like Matisse, Marquet and Camoin, he studied under the renowned Symbolist Gustave Moreau. Rouault soon became his Master's favorite pupil and his personal friend. Moreau was a progressive, open-minded tutor who conscientiously cherished and respected the unique personalities of his students and would always strive to give his pupils the space to develop their individual artistic predilections. Rouault holds a special place in the history of modern art. He was contemporary of the Cubists, Fauvists and Expressionists without ever joining their ranks. He developed a highly individualistic style but because he was a passionate Catholic, and often depicted religious themes, he was never fully accepted as a modernist artist. Clement Greenberg had dismissed him by saying in 1945: "That Rouault, pictorial exponent of the pornographic, sadomasochistic, 'avant-garde' Catholicism of Léon Bloy, should be hailed as the one profoundly religious painter of our time is one of the embarrassments of modernist art". He was mistrusted both by modernists, who found him too conventional, and by religious writers who found his religious sensibilities not traditional enough.

German Expressionism was an art movement that emerged in the early 20th century and was characterized by a focus on emotion and ideas as inspiration. The basis of the movement came in stark contrast with other movements that preceded it, which focused on more accurate depictions of reality and nature. German Expressionism also encompassed social, cultural, and political perspectives of younger generations at the time. German Expressionism was more than just a style, it was a state of mind. a b c d Azuela, Alicia (1993). "El Machete and Frente a Frente: Art Committed to Social Justice in Mexico". Art Journal. 52 (1): 82–87. doi: 10.2307/777306. ISSN 0004-3249. JSTOR 777306. Strong elements of monumentalism and Modernism appear throughout the canon of German Expressionism. An excellent example of this is Metropolis, as evidenced by the enormous power plant and glimpses of the massive yet pristine "upper" city. The explosion of sales of cheap woodcuts in the middle of the century led to a fall in standards, and many popular prints were very crude. The development of hatching followed on rather later than engraving. Michael Wolgemut was significant in making German woodcuts more sophisticated from about 1475, and Erhard Reuwich was the first to use cross-hatching (far harder to do than engraving or etching). Both of these produced mainly book-illustrations, as did various Italian artists who were also raising standards there at the same period. At the end of the century Albrecht Dürer brought the Western woodcut to a level that, arguably, has never been surpassed, and greatly increased the status of the "single-leaf" woodcut (i.e. an image sold separately).

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From the beginning, printmaking fundamental to simplifying and abstracting his style. Made 663 prints, of which nearly 450 were woodcuts. Almost all date between 1905 and 1927. Until 1912 printed most by hand in small editions; thereafter used professional printers, sometimes under commission from publishers, including Pan-Presse, J. B. Neumann, and Kurt Wolff. Rouault seems to have most empathy for the entertainer. Dressed in an ostentatious red dress, she is at the center of the scene and has a stern and deep glaze (unlike her bland counterparts). However, instead of attracting players, she seems melancholic and as bored as her puppets. The artist removes the shiny and lively side of the entertainment life and reveals a sadder and more somber angle. The work (made on paper) was first exhibited at the 1905 Salon d'Automne that premiered the Fauves group. It features the several themes that Rouault would depict during his future career: social criticism, entertainers, prostitution and leisure.

Ugo da Carpi after Parmigianino: Diogenes (17.50.1) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Metmuseum.org. 3 February 2012 . Retrieved 18 February 2012. a b c Roger Manvell. Henrik Galeen – Films as writer:, Other films. Film Reference . Retrieved 23 April 2009. In seeking a definition, the movement can be broadly defined as one that rejected all Western conventions previously associated with the production of traditional art. Initially sympathetic to National Socialism. Nazis nevertheless confiscated 1,052 works, more than from any other artist. Prohibited by Nazis from painting in 1941; worked secretly in watercolor. His studio in Berlin, with archive of his prints, was destroyed by bombs in 1944.Today, in Mexico the activist woodcut tradition is still alive. In Oaxaca, a collective called the Asamblea De Artistas Revolucionarios De Oaxaca (ASARO) was formed during the 2006 Oaxaca protests. They are committed to social change through woodcut art. [23] Their prints are made into wheat-paste posters which are secretly put up around the city. [24] Artermio Rodriguez is another artist who lives in Tacambaro, Michoacán who makes politically charged woodcut prints about contemporary issues. [1] Famous works in woodcut [ edit ] German Modernism emerged from turn-of-the-century Aestheticism. Like European Modernism as a whole, German Modernism was in fact a cluster of different literary movements, including Expressionism, Neue Sachlichkeit (“New Objectivity”), and Dada. Of these, Expressionism is the best known and most important. Beginning about 1910… Read More

He volunteered to join the army during World War One but was later discharged due to a breakdown. In 1933, as the Nazis came into power, his artwork was branded as corrupt, and over 600 of his pieces were either destroyed or sold. Sadly, in 1938, Kirchner committed suicide at the age of 58.The Bauhaus movement came to a close in 1933, yet its influence, much like German Expressionism, lingered. The movement placed focus on juxtaposing abstract shapes with balanced forms, and its influence can be seen in the modern architecture that we are surrounded by today. Due to this, it can be difficult to separate each art movement individually, as a lot of overlapping exists. The majority of the artists who helped pave the way for German Expressionism were members of multiple groups. In 1919, Gropius founded Staatliches Bauhaus, which was a school dedicated to bringing all the different branches of art together under one roof. The school became a center for Europe’s most experimental creatives to come and teach, with one teacher being none other than Der Blaue Reiter’s Wassily Kandinsky. German Expressionism began during the reign of Wilhelm II, German Kaiser and King of Prussia. At a time when the world was undergoing significant shifts—from industrial developments to the dawn of World War I—German Expressionism provided a lens through which audiences could comprehend and contribute to the changes at hand by challenging norms and encouraging bold demonstrations of thought. For example, works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner depicted a growing trend of communal and nudist lifestyles in Germany with vivid colors and brushstrokes.