MMOMA presents an excursion into German art – 400 works created from 1949 until today
Over the last 60 years German contemporary art has gained artists such as Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys, Sigmar Polke, Isa Henzken and Rebecca Horn and has come a long way – the exhibition curators Matthias Flügge and Matthias Winzen decided to make their project a tour into the past and show the artistic environment of the FRG and GDR. To do this they needed 400 works of art from almost 100 German artists, some of them major and some of them less well known.
Paintings, photographs, installations and sculptures fully occupied the second and third floors of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Petrovka. The biggest female sculptor who was recently awarded a grandiose retrospective at MoMA, Isa Genzken brought one of her works to Moscow, the postmodernist Joseph Beuys occupied the whole hall with his fine drawings on paper, and the “alchemist” Sigmar Polke, also honored by MoMA this season, showed his experiments with varnishes and spirits in graphics.
The curators gave an overview of all the key “paths of German art”:participation in the European art movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Fluxus, the Düsseldorf School of Photography, the New Wild movement of the late 1970s, figurative art of the 1980s and finally protest art of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“We tried to show painting and photography in parallel,” says the exhibition curator, giving a tour of the third floor, where oil paintings by the German abstractionist Gerhard Richter are displayed alongside his series of black-and-white photographs, Strawalde’s canvases with the reportage photography of Sibille Bergemann and Barbara Klemm, who has shot for the leading German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for 45 years. Also hanging here are the works of the youngest member of the exhibition, 23-year-old Julian Reder, who often traveled to summits and photographed other social events in his younger years.
On the third floor hangs early photos by the author of the most expensive photography, Andreas Gursky, whose 1991 work Genoa, in particular, is in the Ifa collection. Opposite it are snapshots by Thomas Roff, who photographs people’s faces in a passport.
Martin Honnard, who participated in the Venice Biennale in 1995, dedicates his work to memory. “It creates a very artificial, even unfortunate picture of the theater scene,” says the curator. -It’s not about childhood, as one might think, but about memories. You can’t visualize a picture clearly and be aware of what you’re remembering at the same time. If you walk from the center of the room to the figures themselves and stand next to them, the picture gets distorted: the content of the memory disappears.
The exhibition “Pathways of German Art from 1949 to Modern Times” will run at the MOMA until September 7. Initially the exposition was conceived as a traveling exhibition, and it will have a long journey.
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7 Ages in the History of German Art
This is one of the best examples of how different national characteristics are in one country compared to neighboring regions. Although its artistic heritage is sometimes under-appreciated compared to neighboring countries, and because of two world wars that stagnated its art in the 20th century, Germany was still a country that had its own say in most European movements and periods.Historically, a certain highlight of German art history is architectural heritage with its enormous value to archaeologists, historians and art lovers. German builders and architects were known throughout the Old World and were in great demand. The best examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture can be found in Germany, while for some of the most impressive Baroque and Rococo churches and palaces, Germany is also home. Of course, there have been artists such as the famous Albrecht Dürer, but the wonders of lightness and spatial complexity of Germany’s architectural achievements are truly unprecedented.
Regardless of the artwork and style German artists, sculptors, and architects created, they always sought to establish a national approach to each trend. Their Gothic buildings are unique both in terms of decoration and in the technical segment, Renaissance works are radically different from those of their Italian contemporaries, Baroque stones are different from French works, etc. It is the differences that make the history of German art such a fascinating topic of discussion. This constant variation has been driven by a strong sense of German identity, the idea that their own heritage is something to be proud of and that it should not be compromised by the influences of outsiders.
These ideas are deeply rooted in German visual art, especially since the 18th century and conflicts with neighboring countries. Since then, many believed that the German states risked losing their identity. Artists were therefore obliged to preserve their own art without allowing t of other scenes, especially French ones, to take root in Germany. Such concepts culminated in many popular theories, such as the 18th-century idea that Germans were the closest relatives of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Of course, the most prominent of these theories found their way into the core of every artistic movement that Germany has experienced in the last few centuries.
Neoclassicism
This famous artistic movement appeared in Germany earlier than in France, which is a bit ironic since French neoclassicism is often used as the primary example of this period. There were three artists who had the greatest influence on this part of German art history-the sculptor Gottfried Schadow (1764-1850) and two painters, Anton Raphael Mance (1728-1779) and Asmus Jacob Carstens (1754-1798). Mance was most significant because he founded the vocabulary of the early Neoclassical style in Germany. On the other hand, Carstens’ shorter career was turbulent and troubled, marked by many unfinished works.
The basic idea of German neoclassicism was not unlike that of its French counterpart – artists and theorists wanted to revive art and return it to the grandeur of ancient Greece and Rome. In other words, representatives of this movement hoped for the reincarnation of an era similar to that of the Renaissance. Neoclassicism can also be accurately defined as a reaction to the emotionally intense Baroque. Just as in the case of French Neoclassicism, the German approach to the movement was conceptually linked to the idea of the Enlightenment. This led to an increase in the number of educated people, and many new academies began to appear in Germany. It was also a time when Johann Joachim Winkelmann, the German who literally initiated the study of art history and archaeology as we see them today, was just beginning his career. The works he wrote later in his life would prove to be key books on the subject, making Winkelmann the father of the two disciplines. And he was not the only writer worth mentioning in regard to that time-the Enlightenment period saw German writers become leading theorists and critics of art, all led by Winkelmann, who praised ancient Greek art as well. Hearing his ideas, German neoclassical artists gathered around the ideas of the free man and the ancient heritage, which were largely reflected in the visual part of their works. Inspired by Winkelmann’s success, Goethe and Friedrich Schiller also began to explore similar themes. The Neoclassical period of German art history is therefore more concerned with the written word than with the visual arts. This is what distinguishes it from the neoclassicism of other countries.
Romanticism and the Nazarenes
In contrast to German neoclassicism, the next period of art in this country was much more innovative and different from other European countries. Romanticism produced many artists with very individual styles. The most famous and influential painter of German Romanticism was the legendary Caspar David Friedrich, one of the greatest German artists who ever lived. He mainly painted landscapes characterized by a strong northern character and a sense of religious silence. This artist often introduced human figures into his compositions, but they were always lost in the contemplation of the landscape. Kaspar David Friedrich’s enchanting romantic paintings of that time are some of the greatest and most beautiful works of German fine art. Unfortunately, Caspar David Friedrich was misunderstood by his contemporaries for most of his life, but this visionary from Germany’s great Romantic period can be mentioned today alongside such names as William Turner and John Constable.
Another movement in German art history can be linked to Romanticism. The Nazarene (or Nazarene, “St. Luke’s Union”) was a union of 19th-century German Romantic artists who sought to revive honesty and spirituality in Christian art. The main motivation of the Nazarenes was to oppose neoclassicism and the routine art education of the academic system, which they saw as wrong. These artists hoped to put art back on a course that leads to spiritual Christian values, and because of this they looked to the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance for inspiration. Because of this, the Nazarenes are often associated with their English counterpart, the Pre-Raphaelites of the mid-nineteenth century, who had quite similar goals. The most famous Nazarenes are Johann Friedrich Overbeck, Franz Pforr, Ludwig Vogel, and the Swiss Johann Conrad Hottinger. They developed most of their ideas in Rome, where their refuge was the abandoned monastery of San Isidoro.
Biedermeier and Secession
The term “Biedermeier” refers to the style of literature, music, fine art, and interior design between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the Revolution of 1848. The art of this period appealed to the prosperous middle class through detailed but polished realism, often using German national motifs. The painter Carl Spitzweg was the leading German figure of the Biedermeier style. This movement also had an international character. In the second half of the nineteenth century Germany did not have a definite movement or style, but it was marked by an even stronger tendency to emphasize national pride.
The Berlin Secession group was the last known movement in 19th century German art, an association founded in 1898 by artists Max Liebermann and Lovis Corinth. It is one of the most influential groups of the late century, which is quite interesting because the Berlin Secession did not impose a particular style and was quite free in this respect.
History of twentieth-century German art
The study of 20th-century German art is an intriguing subject. Between 1900 and 1945 Germany experienced two world wars, a long list of technological and cultural changes, and had so many different protest movements that it is sometimes difficult to tell everything at once. In addition, many of the artists had been members of various groups over the years, sometimes changing their artistic styles along the way. This situation meant that 20th-century German art developed through a multitude of loose groups and movements, highlighted by the most shameful period in the nation’s history, something many German artists were well aware of. After both world wars ended, Germany felt the chaos on all fronts, including culture, but it was still capable of influencing contemporary art. Sadly, we are deprived of knowledge of how much this country’s artists could have changed the course of art history if Germany had not caused the most devastating and horrific events the world has ever seen.
“Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) were two groups of German artists fundamental to the development of Expressionism, one of the key movements of the early avant-garde. Die Brücke was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905 by architecture students who wanted to become artists. They were Fritz Bleil (1880-1966), Erich Heckel (1883-1970), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976). Although Die Brücke disbanded in 1913, the group succeeded in reviving woodblock printmaking as a working medium and laid the foundation for many abstract art concepts. Der Blaue Reiter was formed in Munich in 1911. The formation of the group is closely related to its most important member, who was, in fact, a Russian artist. It was Wassily Kandinsky and it was after his painting “The Last Judgment” was rejected by a prestigious gallery in Berlin that Der Blaue Reiter appeared. The group also included Franz Marc, August Macke, Alexei von Jawlenski, and Marianne von Werefkin. All of their work was based on the ideas of Wassily Kandinsky, whose expression and piety used honest, straightforward, and spiritually connected images.
Dada and Bauhaus
Another important feature of German art that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century was the strong tendency to create grotesque works. Artists such as George Gross, Otto Dix, and Max Beckmann are good examples of how grotesque expression shaped the human image. Dadaist concepts played a major role in defining the German grotesque style. Interestingly, Dada in Germany was much more politicized than in other countries. Kurt Schwitters and Hannah Höch are the leading practitioners of German Dadaism. Max Ernst also worked in the Dada style, but because of his move into Surrealism we cannot call him the leading representative of German Dada.
There was another important moment in the history of German art before the Nazi government was established–the legendary Bauhaus School. It was the most influential modernist art school of the twentieth century, where the approach to teaching and understanding the relationship between art and society was quite revolutionary. The goal of the Bauhaus was to equalize the distinction between the visual and applied arts, reuniting creativity and craftsmanship. In addition to the founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, there were other great German art figures associated with this movement – such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Josef Albers, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee, Johannes Itten, and Marcel Breuer.
Art during the Third Reich
This period is perhaps the most interesting for the study of German art history. The strict Nazi regime forbade modern art, explaining its decision by the fact that such art was highly degenerate. According to Nazi ideology, this art deviated too far from the prescribed norms of classical beauty. The period between the 1920s and Hitler’s ascent to power in Germany was marked by public disagreement with avant-garde artists, but he did not go beyond harsh rhetoric. However, when Hitler made sure that the three major political roles in Germany belonged to him, all avant-garde artists were branded as enemies of the state and declared a threat to the national identity of the German nation.
Then there is the well-known scenario for Nazi Germany, only a few of them lucky enough to leave the country in time. To prove the destructive effect of modern art, the Nazis organized a polemical exhibition in Munich in July 1937 called “Entartete Kunst” (“Degenerate Art”). This show was intended as a formal condemnation of modern art. The exhibition included more than 650 paintings, sculptures, prints, and books from the collections of thirty-two different German museums.
The postwar chapter of German art history
All trends in German art after the horrors of World War II can generally be divided into Neo-Expressionism and Conceptualism. The first group included the likes of Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorf, Markus Lüperz, Peter Robert Keil and Rainer Fetting. The second group had its own well-known representative as well as leading German conceptual artists: Bernd and Hilla Becher, Hanne Darboven, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Hans Haack and Charlotte Posenenske. There were many people who wanted to work within traditional boundaries, such as Martin Kippenberger, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and Neo Rauch. However, they never came close to influencing German art in the same way that Neo-Expressionist and Conceptualist artists did.
Performance art was also a huge innovation for Germany and its art – Joseph Beuys was probably the most influential German artist of the postwar era. This art activist, sculptor and theorist made a major contribution to German culture with his famous statement that “anyone is an artist.