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Portraits and Expressionism. ‘Die Brucke’ ( The Bridge ). Expressionism.
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Portraits and Expressionism ‘Die Brucke’ (The Bridge)
Expressionism • This term is used to describe the way many western artists from the late 19th century onwards have deliberatelydistorted subject-matter, form and colour to express their ( often unhappy ) state of mind in their works. Expressionist works tend to use exaggerated shapes, vigorous brush strokes and colour to express the emotions of the artist.
Edvard Munch ‘The Scream’ ‘The Scream’ (1893) by Edvard MUNCH is the most widely recognised image of this era. MUNCH was a major influence on EXPRESSIONIST artists. He was dogged by psychological problems throughout his life and his work reflected his troubled state of mind. This is what he said about ‘The Scream’ “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side, and the fjord below. I stopped and looked out - the sun was setting, the clouds turning blood-red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The colour shrieked. This became ‘The Scream’.”
The Scream by Edvard Munch Munch had a tragic life, his mother died when he five leaving him in the care of his strict and religious father. Munch’s sister and brother died when they were young and his remaining sister was in an asylum. He was also prone to mental illness and suffered from depression throughout his life. The scream was originally called ‘Despair’ and was first exhibited in Berlin. It was renamed ‘The Scream’ after this and was also known as ‘Skriek’ by Munch. An Art Critic in Paris said that the Scream was so badly painted it was ‘like dipping your finger in excrement and wiping it on canvas’. At this time in 1893 paintings were still expected to be beautiful and expertly painted. Munch did not want to paint beautiful pictures he wanted to express how he felt about life. He was more interested in the meaning of his work rather than the technique or style. The Scream evolved from various ideas and was not painted in an artistic fit of inspiration. The composition and figure at the front were changed and reworked to express Munch’s idea. The Scream as we recognise it took nearly three years to emerge from Munch’s studies and paintings. The Scream was intended to be seen as part of a series of six paintings called ‘The Frieze of Life’ It was supposed to be the last painting depicting the despair of loss and the bitter end of love in a relationship. The figure in the foreground of Much’s image is thought to have been inspired by a Peruvian Mummy on display at ‘The Trocadero’ in Paris. Munch is known to have visited Paris while it was on display and the similarity is obvious.
Die Brucke • Die Brucke ( The Bridge ) 1905 - 1911 was formed by a group of architectural students who were influenced by Van Gogh, Gauguin and Munch. Van Gogh Gauguin Munch They were also interested in primitive sculptures by African and Oceanic artists. They felt that tribal Art was crude but very powerful.
Why form an artist’s group like Die Brucke? • These were troubled times leading up to WW1 in Germany and artists works often met with hostility if they did not conform to a predefined style expected by the public or authorities. Many artists wanted to react against a society that they saw as being corrupt and materialistic – they wanted to express emotions and explore the inner life of humanity not just paint what something looked like.
Die BruckeArtists Ernest Ludwig Kirchner Karl Schmidt Rottluff Max Pechstein Erich Heckel
Printmaking and Die Brucke • Printmaking was very important to Brucke artists and they admired German artists of the past like Durer and his skilled woodcut prints. • Many of the Brucke artists felt that the print was just as important as painting or other forms of Art and they used the woodcut to express and develop their own ideas. • These images are often bold, sometimes disturbing and can seem crude or primitive in style.
