Chap 21 notes

Chapter 21 Early Twentieth Century

Expressionism – a movement in art and considered a characteristic applied to any art that the primary focus is expression of emotion. Stylistic tendencies include bright or even garish color, sharply linear, or dark and brooding quality, and black and white woodcuts.

German Expression - felt that the art of the current establishment was too academic and refined to retain any degree of expression, so they instead found inspiration in medieval German art and primitive African sculpture. Since their primary concern was the expression of deeply felt emotions, they would also transform their negative feelings about the war onto canvas.

Kirchner - Die Brucke (meaning "the bridge"), led by Kirchner and the other artists sought to build a “bridge" between Germany's past and future.

degenerate art - a term adopted by the Nazi regime in Germany to describe virtually all Modern Art.

Franz Marc (German) – best known for his paintings of horses and deer

Gustav Klimt was the leader of a group called the Viennese Secession, which sought to separate itself from the naturalist movement which was popular in early 20th century

Fauvism – the most optimistic movement linked to expressionism, which included Matisse and Derain. The main emphasis in Fauvism was on color - bright, free use of arbitrary color, independent of objective reality. Fauvism was a brief but important art movement that followed and was inspired by the Post-Impressionism movement. Although the movement only lasted four years, it would have a profound effect on future artists especially in terms of their use of color. Fauvism is recognized for its influence on cubism and modern expressionism in its flattened space, disregard for natural forms, and its love of unbridled color.

Henri Matisse - used bright colors and bold compositions. The most evident change in his work is his increased interest in patterns and the continued flattening of pictorial space. Matisse is, along with Picasso, regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Cubism - The development of cubism can be attributed to two men, George Braque and Pablo Picasso. Cubism dealt mainly with space - the disintegration of traditional illusionistic space in art. In Cubism, the subject is reduced to planes and interlocking geometric forms which reflect the subtle shifts of time and multiple perspectives.

George Braque – developed Cubism with Picasso. Incorporated the Cubist aim of representing the world as seen from a number of different viewpoints, he wanted to convey a feeling of being able to move around within the painting.

Pablo Picasso – Spanish, prolific and influential artist of the 20th century, developed Cubism with Braque
Les Demoiselles de Avignon (1907) one of his first early Cubist works
Guernica 1937 – painting of the destruction of a small Spanish town

Abstract Sculpture - The general shift from naturalistic to abstract art begun in the late 20th century

Constantin Brancusi produced abstract sculpture. Early in his career he created sculpture similar to the romantic naturalism of Rodin. His later work simplifies the subject stripping it to the essential features.

Architecture in the 20th century - architects were designing houses in 1905 – 1910, while the traditional concepts of form were being challenged in art; they were also being challenged in architecture. Prairie homes by FL Wright were being built that had minimized or omitted walls in the interior and exterior spaces. Contemporary homes were now one continuous space often intermingling with the outdoors.

Futurists gained inspiration from Cubism adding a sense of speed, motion, and the celebration of the machine. The Futurists translated the speed of modern life into works of art that captured the dynamic energy of the new century. During this time, the experience of motion, time, and space was transformed by the development of the automobile, the airplane, and movies. Futurist imagery reflects this exciting period of change.