Association of the XI

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The Berlin artist group Vereinigung der XI was, along with the Munich Secession, the most important artist association in Germany that had emancipated itself from the existing art business. It was founded on February 5, 1892, based on the model of the Brussels artist group Les Vingt, which had existed since 1883, and dissolved again when the Berlin Secession was founded in 1898.

Members

These nine artists came together at the regular meetings that took place immediately before the foundation:

After their decision to found the artists' association, these nine members successfully sought the support and participation of those who were known in art circles at the time

The number of eleven members remained constant, others moved up for the departing artists:

There was no uniform art direction, if one disregards a turn to the portrait, to nature, to the private, to the mood and thus to the landscape.

history

background

Kaiser Wilhelm II supported traditional art movements ( historicism ) and spoke out against more modern styles ( expressionism or impressionism ) that did not correspond to his idea of ​​art. He developed great ambition to direct the art of his time himself. His preferred painter and artistic advisor was Anton von Werner (1843–1915), who was also the chairman of the Berlin Artists' Association and director of the Royal Academy of Arts . The annual Great Berlin Art Exhibition , organized by the Berlin Artists' Association , remained the showcase of the established art business. Artists with new forms of expression had no opportunity there to present their works to a broad public.

Purpose and activities of the "Elf"

The Association of the XI initially called itself "Free Association for the Organization of Art Exhibitions" . The aim was to present and sell their own works to the public that were not accessible to the established art business. They also wanted to revolutionize the art life in Berlin and offer an alternative to the Prussian concept of art.

Walter Leistikow wrote in 1896:

“What brought us together was the only desire to arrange a small joint exhibition, in which everyone could freely and unabashedly, regardless of the wishes and hobbies of the buying public, and without anxious squinting at the paragraphs of the exhibition programs. ... From this idea we expected pleasure and the art of the capital ... well, maybe a little refreshment, a little excitement - and with it: life. "

The first of these annual exhibitions opened the "Elf" on April 3, 1892 in the art salon of Eduard Schulte Unter den Linden .

Free artists association

In 1892 the Association of Berlin Artists organized the first exhibition of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch in Germany. The 55 works immediately caused great resentment - the association closed the show prematurely just seven days after it opened. Again as a protest against the closure, a short-lived Free Artists ' Association was founded with considerable participation from the XI group . The process of splitting up in the Berlin Artists' Association continued.

resolution

The Berlin Secession was founded in 1898 with Max Liebermann as President, which also meant the dissolution of the XI , as eight of the former members joined the Secession.

See also

literature

  • Sabine Meister: The Association of the XI. The group of artists as the nucleus of organized modernism in Berlin . Dissertation University of Freiburg 2006, urn : nbn: de: bsz: 25-opus-27699