German Impressionism (painting)
The painting of German Impressionism (also: German Impressionism ) arose as a reaction to state-sponsored academic painting towards the end of the 19th century. It is the first modern art movement in Germany, had its heyday from the turn of the century to the First World War and was then replaced by Expressionism .
history
The place of origin of German Impressionism is Munich , which, along with Düsseldorf, housed one of Germany's two leading art academies. In the case of the academies in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart one speaks of “Swabian Impressionism”, with representatives such as Hermann Pleuer , Otto Reiniger and Gustav Schönleber , the latter also being regarded as a forerunner.
The Franco-German relations were at a low point, so that there was hardly any artistic exchange with the neighboring country. German artists were refused to exhibit in Paris , and conversely, the exhibiting of French Impressionists led to protests, less because of the painting style than for nationalistic reasons. Only Gustave Courbet lived for some time in the liberal Frankfurt, at the invitation of the local art association . In 1893, works from France were shown for the first time in Germany at the Munich exhibition. But the German Impressionists did not take this as an opportunity to take what was happening in France as a model. Chronologically, German Impressionism falls on French Late Impressionism .
Forerunners and models of German impressionism are painters such as Wilhelm Leibl , Franz von Lenbach and Hans Thoma and naturalism . The exhibition of the century of German art in 1906 showed primarily art from the 19th century, but the selection was shaped by the preferences of the impressionists. Eugen Bracht had turned to Impressionism since 1900 , this new orientation of a famous painter was celebrated by the public, but criticized by the official cultural policy. Bracht reacted immediately by rejecting a lucrative public contract. The Frankfurt -Cronberger-Künstler-Bund was founded in Frankfurt , which distinguished itself from the academic artists.
The Hölzel circle was formed in Stuttgart , but it was not until some of the protagonists of impressionism moved to Berlin that the movement solidified. Large galleries such as Eduard Schulte , Fritz Gurlitt and Paul Cassirer attracted Berlin at that time , and artistic groups such as the Association of the XI and the Free Association of the XXIV exhibited there.
In the 1930s Impressionism was history and many of its protagonists had died. This did not prevent the National Socialists from branding this art movement as “degenerate”; some works were also shown in the exhibition “ Degenerate Art ”. 295 works of art were confiscated from Lovis Corinth, who died in 1925 alone.
Stylistic features and protagonists
Different lighting conditions and painting traditions give German Impressionism a different character, which is characterized by milder colors and greater drawing precision. For example, cloudy skies take the place of sun-drenched skies.
German Impressionism evolves from naturalism within a few years through “a gradual refinement of the same stylistic means, and tsar to the side of the sensualistic , whereby all ideal factors [...] become obsolete” and one restricts oneself to visual impression instead. So'll Max Liebermann placed by the "loosening of his painting technique and a preference for light trickled canopies slowly to the Impressionists [...], without abandoning its naturalistic achievements." The same effects in unimpresionistischen topics often. Unlike in France, “mixed products” are created that lack charisma.
The colors are muted by the addition of gray and brown tones, a brightly colored color scheme is outlawed. Max Liebermann describes nature as “simple and gray”, the work of August von Brandis is described as follows: “In Brandis' works, the light emanates from a single spot and shines on objects in the interior, thereby softening the effect the resolution into the spectral colors ”.
In contrast to naturalism, but also French impressionism, the painter's subjective perception comes to the fore: "Not the reality itself, which is reflected in the picture, but the person who made the picture," Corinth notes in his textbook.
In 1912, art and artists characterized the painters of German Impressionism as follows: “The new painting style, intelligently understood and applied by painters who are intelligent citizens of the big city and do not want to be anything else. This group includes Konrad von Kardorff , Ernst Oppler , Fritz Rhein , E. Gabler and with a more altbürgerlichen touch Ulrich and Heinrich Hübner . "Artificial light in the life of the city and the technology play a greater role, such as Lesser Ury , Franz Skarbina and Robert Sterl. Paul Klimsch , Heinrich von Zügel and Max Slevogt enriched Impressionism with animal painting.
One of the most important interior painters of German Impressionism was August von Brandis , who documented historical interior design with pictures. Private life took the place of royal splendor; The middle-class residential idyll with garden and study room, even the intimate morning toilet and dressing table, became the artists' favorite themes. , writes Jutta Hülsewig-Johnen.
The painters of German Impressionism such as Paul Baum , Lovis Corinth , Max Liebermann and Ernst Oppler discovered less the landscapes of France as a motif than the summer coasts and cities of the Netherlands. Representatives of the Hague School and painters such as Jozef Israëls and Johan Barthold Jongkind were among the artistic models here.
The painting was rejected by established painters of historicism such as Adolph von Menzel and Anton von Werner , which was also reflected for a long time in the acquisition policy of museums and exhibitions. After Lovis Corinth was appointed professor at the turn of the century and Max Liebermann headed the Prussian Academy of the Arts in 1920, Impressionism established itself as the art of the upper bourgeoisie.
The First World War can be regarded as a traumatic experience, so the late painting by Carl Geist is characterized by trauma. During the war, the Secession's regulars' table was formed in a small beer pub on Wittenbergplatz in Berlin , which was visited by Oppler, Corinth and Eugen Spiro .
German impressionism ended in the Weimar Republic and was replaced by expressionism and the new objectivity . Max Liebermann and Ernst Oppler rejected Expressionism and distanced themselves by withdrawing from the Secession. The work of Max Beckmann , however, can be assigned to both styles. The Austrian Oskar Kokoschka turned from Impressionism to Expressionism.
Until the end, German Impressionism had Biedermeier features, for example with Paul Eduard Crodel .
literature
- Jutta Hülsewig-Johnen, Thomas Kellein (ed.): The German impressionism . DuMont, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-8321-9274-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Birgit Jooss: Munich as the place of origin of German impressionism . Archive of the University of Heidelberg, accessed on July 20, 2017. Original publication in: Jutta Hülsewig-Johnen, Thomas Kellein (Ed.): Der deutsche Impressionismus . DuMont, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-8321-9274-7 , pp. 51-60.
- ↑ Slevogt Corinth Liebermann: Der Deutsche Impressionismus ( Memento of the original from November 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . ArGe Kunstgeschichte im BDPh , accessed on July 20, 2017.
- ^ A b c Hans-Dieter Fronz: German Impressionism: The dark weight of colors . Badische Zeitung of July 2, 2010, accessed on July 20, 2017.
- ↑ Mind painting : An exhibition about Eugen Bracht and his artistic development in the Giersch Museum . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of September 23, 2005, accessed on July 20, 2017.
- ↑ Jost Hermand, Richard Hamann: Epochs of German culture from 1870 to the present. Volume 3: Impressionism. Munich 2nd ed. 1975, p. 178.
- ↑ Aachener Kunstblätter - Volumes 19-21, 1960, p. 132.
- ^ Karl Scheffler (Red.): Art and artists: illustrated monthly for the fine arts and applied arts . Verlag Bruno Cassirer, Berlin 1912. Digital library of the University of Heidelberg, accessed on July 20, 2017.
- ↑ Some works by August von Brandis . Arcadja Auctions, accessed July 20, 2017.
- ↑ Jutta Hülsewig-Johnen: Composition of colors and shapes . Rotary Magazine, August 16, 2013, accessed July 20, 2017.
- ↑ Uta Baier: What the Germans learned from the French . Die Welt vom December 29, 2009, accessed July 20, 2017.
- ^ Karl Schwarz (ed.): Jewish art, Jewish artists . Hentrich and Hentrich, 2001, ISBN 3-933471-05-2 , p. 227.
