Art of the Twentieth Century Diego Rivera Mural

Art of the Twentieth Century Diego Rivera. Mural: Detroit Industry. 1932 1933. Fresco.

The beginning of the twentieth century is recognized today as a period of revolution and change in art. Artists introduced a variety of new art styles that not only broke with the artistic traditions of the past but also pointed the way for future innovations. At first, Europe was the birthplace for these new art styles that greatly influenced the art created later in America. However, as the century progressed, American art began to exhibit a bold new character of its own. Ultimately, the artworks created by American artists became the models to which artists in Europe and other parts of the world turned for inspiration. LITERATURE The Expressionist art style was adapted by playwrights in America. Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape and Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine used symbolism, exaggeration, and direct language to explore inner emotions. DANCE Modern dance was introduced in America by Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis. Later, American choreographer Martha Graham, created a style of modern dance that continues to influence choreographers and dancers. MUSIC In America, jazz music was influenced by the blues and musical styles from Africa. Jazz was quickly adapted internationally by classical and popular composers.

Many Movements in European Art The turn of the century saw the end of the academies‘ influence and the beginning of a new series of art movements in Europe. The first of these movements came to public attention in 1905. A group of younger French painters under the leadership of Henri The Matisse Fauvesexhibited their works in Paris. Their paintings were so simple in design, so brightly colored, and loose in of brushwork The Fauves carried onso the ideas Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. They took the colors, movement, and that an enraged critic called the artists concern for design stressed by those earlier artists and built an art style that was unrealistic, free, and wild. Fauves, "Wilddaring Beasts. " van Gogh in their use of color, and bolder than Gauguin in their use of broad, flat They wereormore than shapes and lively line patterns. They tried to extend and intensify the ideas first expressed by those Post Impressionists. Henri Matisse (1869 -1954) Henri Matisse, the leader of the Fauves, turned to art when he was a 20 year old law student. He spent a brief period as a student of an academic painter, but found this experience almost as frustrating as studying law. Then Matisse studied with another artist, Gustave Moreau, who was not as rigid and strict. Moreau encouraged Matisse to exercise greater freedom in his use of color. While studying with Moreau, Matisse met Georges Rouault and some of the other artists who became associated with him in the Fauve movement.

Matisse used this red for its strong visual impact, not because his studio was actually this color. How does Matisse use linear perspective to welcome you into his studio? Henri Matisse. The Red Studio. (1911) Oil on canvas. The Red Studio By 1905, Matisse had developed a style using broad areas of color that were not meant to look like the shapes or colors found in nature. This style is shown in his painting entitled The Red Studio. Like many artists before him, Matisse uses his studio as a subject; although unlike those earlier artists, he does not include himself in the picture. Instead he shows a number of his paintings, which hang from or lean against the walls in a haphazard way. He welcomes you into his studio by using linear perspective. A table at the left and a chair at the right direct you into the room and invite you to look around. In this work, the room has been flattened out into a solid rectangle. The walls do not have corners; round objects look flat; and there are no shadows. Red is found everywhere – it covers the walls, floor, and furnishings. It is a strong, pure red selected

Emphasis on Design Matisse was mainly interested in organiz ing the visual qualities in this picture rather than providing a lifelike view of his studio. The studio itself suggested the colors, shapes, lines, and textures that were then used in new and exciting ways to create a colorful decorative pattern. The objects in his work seem to be suspended by the intense red hue. This illusion allows you to glance casually about the room where surprising contrasts of greens, pinks, black, and white serve to attract and hold your interest. Unnecessary details are stripped away. The result is a balanced design in which tables, dresser, and chairs exist as colors, lines, and shapes. Today it is difficult to understand why Matisse's paintings were so shocking when they were first exhibited. Perhaps critics were upset by the simplicity of his pictures, but Matisse used simplicity because he wanted a more direct form of personal expression. In a way, he is like a writer who uses a few sentences and simple, easy to understand words to make his or her message as precise and direct as possible. Nowhere are Matisse's simple, direct forms more obvious than in his version of a circus knife thrower. With simple shapes and a few colors, Matisse playfully contrasts the furious actions of a knife thrower with the inactive pose of his female assistant. During the last years of his life, Matisse devoted most of his efforts to making paper cutouts from papers that he had painted earlier. Matisse spent days and even weeks arranging and rearranging his cut shapes until he was satisfied with the results. Matisse had no complicated theories to explain his paintings or cutouts. He claimed they had only one purpose: to give pleasure. "Art, " he once said, "is something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue. " Henri Matisse. The Knife Thrower, from Jazz. 1947.

Georges Rouault (1871 1958) Matisse's attitude toward art was not shared by Georges Rouault, another artist associated with the Fauves. Instead of trying to show happiness and pleasure in his art, Rouault chose to illustrate the more sorrowful side of life. His works were bold visual sermons the his pictures for as long as 2 S Rouault condemning sometimes kept world's andhe endlessly studied and changed years, injustices during which suffering. them, hoping to achieve perfection. Like Cezanne When him, he was boy, before he a did not hesitate to destroy a painting if it Rouault apprenticed failed towas please him. It did not bother him in the least tothat a stained glass maker. threw away could have been a picture he casually Later heavy, ofdark sold he for used thousands dollars. lines to surround areas of thick, The glowing Old Kingcolors, creating paintings that look like medieval church Rouault's heavy lines do more than make his painting of windows. In this manner, The Old King look like stained glass. They also tie his he painted clowns, picture together while stressing the sorrowful expression of landscapes, and biblical the figure. Rouault may have been trying to arouse your figures. curiosity. Certainly this is no proud, joyful ruler. Is Rouault Georges Rouault. The Old King. 1916 36. Oil on canvas. trying to tell you that even a king, with all his power and wealth, cannot find comfort in a world of suffering, or is he suggesting that no king is pow erful enough to offer his subjects the happiness needed to guarantee his own happiness?

German Expressionism Rouault and Matisse considered art a form of personal expression. It was a way for them to present their own thoughts and feelings about the world. In Germany, this view was eagerly accepted by several groups of artists. These artists, who were interested in communicating their deep emotional feelings through their artworks, were called Expressionists. Their art movement, Expressionism, resulted in artworks that communicated strong emotional feelings. Paula Modersohn Becker (1876 1907) In Germany, Paula Modersohn Becker has long been recognized as an extraordinary artist. Over a brief career, she created some 400 paintings and more than 1, 000 drawings and graphic works. Her paintings demonstrate the depth of her feelings and her ability to communicate those feelings in a highly personal, expressive style. The subject of this work may be praying. . Perhaps she is also staring back into her memories or trying to see into the future. What makes this painting a good example of German Expressionism? Paula Modersohn Becker. Old Peasant Woman. c. 1905. Oil on canvas. Old Peasant Woman In the only example of Modersohn Becker's work in the United States, the viewer is presented with a haunting image of a peasant woman. Seated, with her arms crossed and clutched to her chest, the old woman stares ahead as if in prayer. Her lined face, rough hands, and coarse clothing speak of the hardships she has endured, although these hardships have failed to shake her faith or temper her dignity.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 1938) Street, Berlin is a painting by the German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. . Here Kirchner uses clashing angular shapes to express one of his favorite themes: the tension and artificial elegance of the city. The people here are jammed together on a street, part of a never ending parade. They look strangely alike, as if cut from the same piece of cardboard with slashes from a razor sharp knife. They appear to be concerned only with themselves and going their own way. Or are they? It is hard to tell because their faces look like masks. , Historical Context Behind those masks are the real faces. The faces remain hidden, though, because they might betray the people's true feelings. This picture was painted in Berlin just before the outbreak of World War 1. It may be the artist's attempt to suggest the tension lurking just beneath the phony elegance of the German capital on the brink of war. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 1938) Street, Berlin

Seated Woman Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Seated Woman. 1907. Oil on canvas. 80. 6 x Kirchner used yellow for the face here, not because it is realistic but because it is expressive. Where does this young woman seem to be staring? With what expression? Kirchner's colorful, decorative, and highly expressive style is apparent in the haunting portrait of a young woman titled Seated Woman. Actually, the model was a street urchin named Franzi who appeared one day at the artist's studio and remained to serve as a model and do odd jobs in return for food and lodging. Franzi stares calmly out of the picture, directly at the viewer, with large, sad eyes. Blue shadows below the eyes contrast with the yellow face, attesting to the hardships that marked her past and hinting at those that lie ahead. Franzi disappeared during World War I, and was never heard from again. The only clue to her existence is Kirchner's painting; he never parted with In 1938, Kirchner's works were it. condemned by Hitler. The artist, ill and upset about the conditions in Germany, was unable to face up to this insult and took his own life

Kathe Kollwitz. Woman Greeting Death. 1934. Lithograph. The woman in this lithograph extends her hand in

Kathe Kollwitz (1867 -1945) Kathe Kollwitz was another of Germany's great Expressionists. She used her art to protest against the tragic plight of the poor before and after World War I. Hoping to reach the greatest number of viewers, she chose to express her ideas with etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs. Her lithograph Woman Greeting Death is an example of this work. It shows a woman frail, weak, and defeated extending her hand to Death. Too weak even to show fear, she reaches out with one hand while gently pushing her children forward with the other. One child, terrified, turns away, but the other stares directly at Death. Perhaps he is too young to recognize the stranger who takes his mother's hand will soon reach out for his. Kollwitz and many of the other German Expressionists were greatly influenced by Vincent van Gogh, the Fauves, and a Norwegian painter named Edvard Munch (1863 1944) The childhood of Edvard Munch was marked by the deaths of some of his family members and by his own poor health. The fear, suffering, and experience of death in his own life became the subject matter for his art. The Sick Child How much his own suffering contributed to his work can be seen in a picture entitled The Sick Child which was inspired by the death of his older sister. Munch captures the pale complexion, colorless lips, and hopeless stare of a child weakened and finally conquered by illness. Beyond caring, she looks past her grieving mother to a certain, tragic future. Pictures like this shocked viewers at first. Munch's figures seemed crude and grotesque when compared to the colorful and light hearted visions of the Impressionists, who were enjoying great popularity at the time. Munch's works, however, were in keeping with the period in which he lived, a period Edvard Munch. The Sick Child. 1907. Oil on canvas.

when writers and artists were interested in exploring feelings and emotions rather than “describing outward appearances. ” Before, artists showed people in anguish as they appeared to a rational, objective viewer. With Munch and the other Expressionists, this point of view changed. Instead, they showed the world through the eyes of the people in anguish. When seen that way, the shapes and colors of familiar objects change. Trees, hills, houses, and people are pulled out of shape and take on new, unexpected and often disturbing colors. The Scream The painting style based on this view of the world is illustrated in Munch's paintingin. Theexpressive rather colors this. Scream work are curved shapes and than realistic. Everything is distorted to communicate an over powering emotion. The subject of this picture is fear. There is no mistaking the fact that the person in this painting is terrified. The scream that comes from the open mouth is so piercing that the figure must clasp its hands tightly over its ears Edvard Munch. The Scream. 1893. Tempera and pastels on cardboard. The body of the central figure bends and twists as a scream builds and erupts from deep within. How did Munch show that the figures in the background are unaffected by the emotions of the central figure?

Nonobjective Art Until the nineteenth century, artists used recognizable images in their works. This approach changed when artists began to alter the appearance of the objects they painted. Cezanne painted jugs with openings that were too large, Gauguin created crimson trees and rocks, and Matisse stripped unnecessary details from the figures and objects in his pictures. By the beginning of the twentieth century, more and more artists were veering away from literal interpretations of subject matter to focus attention on the formal qualities in their art. Eventually, some of these artists decided to remove the figures and any other objects that might interfere with their desire for a unified and visually appealing design. Wassily Kandinsky Perhaps )the (1866 1944 first artist to reject the use of figures and objects was a Russian, Wassily Kandinsky. When Kandinsky, then a 29 year old lawyer, visited an exhibit of French Impressionist paintings in Moscow, he was overwhelmed by the works he saw. Months later, he abandoned his legal career and went to Munich, Germany, to study painting. For several years, Kandinsky experimented unsuccessfully with several different styles: Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. Then, around 1909, he turned away from these outside influences and listened to his own instincts. A year later he finished a watercolor painting that changed the course of art history. It was brightly colored and may have been based on some earlier landscape studies. Most importantly no subject matter could be seen in the work. Kandinsky's painting marked the start of a new style nonobjective art, a style that employs color, line, texture, and unrecognizable shapes and forms. These works contain no apparent references to reality

Wassily Kandinsky. I, Improvisation 28, 1912 Notice that the title of this work suggests a musical composition. Why is this work a clear example of nonobjective art?

Kandinsky went on to do more paintings that rejected subject matter even as a starting point. His main goal was to convey moods and feelings. This effect could be achieved, he felt, by arranging the elements of art in certain ways. Colors, values, lines, shapes, and textures were selected and carefully arranged on the canvas for a certain effect. Kandinsky felt that art elements, like musical sounds, could be arranged to communicate emotions and feelings. In fact, Kandinsky believed that a painting should be the "exact duplicate of some inner emotion. " He did not believe that art should be an illustration of objects as they appear in nature. Gabriele Munter (1877 1962) In 1911, Kandinsky and several other painters banded together in Munich to form a group known as the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider), a name taken from a painting by Kandinsky. The members of this group differed widely in their artistic styles but were united by a desire to express inner feelings in Kandinsky sought to the kind of inner emotions their paintings. One of the paintings. capture in his nonobjective founding members of this group was a former Gabriele Monter. Schnee und Sonne (Snow and Sun). 1911. Oil on cardboard. student of Kandinsky's, Gabriele Munter. As a In spite of the bright colors, this work suggests bitter cold mature artist, Munter made weather and a somber mood. How is the lone figure use of the intense colors, emphasized? heavy outlines, and

Cubism German Expressionism, with its concern for expressing moods and feelings, can be traced back to the works of van Gogh and Gauguin. Another twentieth century art movement can be linked in much the same way to the work of Paul Cezanne in the nineteenth century. Artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque started with Cezanne's idea that all shapes in nature are based on the sphere, the cone, and the cylinder. They carried this idea further by trying to paint three dimensional objects as if they were seen from many different angles at the same time. They developed a style of painting, called Cubism, in which artists tried to show all sides of three. A drawing dimensional objects on a flat canvas in the style of Cubism

The Cubist Approach The Cubist approach to painting can be illustrated with the simple sketches provided in the first sketch, an ordinary coffee cup has been drawn the from severala Cubist artist used when painting a picture like The Glass of Absinthe. understand process different points of view. recognition is hampered because shapes have been broken up and reassembled. This In this Cubist painting, After thesea first sketches produces complex arrangement of new shapes that can be confusing to the viewer. It is difficult to identify have been done, the artist of another, because part of it seems to be in front and part of it behind. This when one shape is ahead studies them to find the by the use of lines that end suddenly when you expect them to continue, or continue confusion is heightened parts of the cup areto end. Colors associated with the objects were not used. Instead, the artist chose when you expectthat them most andother mostdrab colors, which painters before this time had avoided. grays, interesting browns, and characteristic of coffee cups. These parts are then arranged in a composition. Thus, parts from the top, sides, and bottom of the Pablo Picasso. The Glass of cup are blended together Absinthe. 1911. Oil on to complete the picture. canvas. In this painting, Picasso broke This illustration is very up and then reassembled the simple, but it may help you shapes he chose as his to subject.

Cubists were also interested in making the surfaces of their paintings richer and more exciting by adding a variety of actual textures. Around 1911, Picasso, Braque, and others began to add materi als such as newspaper clippings, pieces of wallpaper, and labels to the picture surface. This technique, known as collage, involves mixing other materials to the picture surface. It further blurred the recognizable connection between the painting and any represented object. Cubism can be thought of as an intellectual approach to art, rather than a descriptive or an emotional one. Cubist artists thought their way through their paintings, trying to show what they knew was there, not what they saw or felt. Pablo Picasso (1881 1973) Pablo Picasso led a long and productive life during which he passed throughin the Cubist style, he stages. After working many different returned to paintings of the human figure in which he used a greater range of colors. In 1937, he painted his famous antiwar picture, Gueirnca Picasso's Influence. A year before Picasso created the mixed media image of a guitar, the artist assembled a sculpture Pablo Picasso. Guitar. Ceret. Cut and pasted paper, ink, charcoal, and white chalk on blue paper, mounted on board of a guitar from metal and wire. The sculpture had a profound effect on other artists. For many, the new method of assembling replaced more traditional methods of sculpting. In particular, a group of Russian artists called the Constructivists found this form of sculpture very appealing and concentrated on creating assemblages. Assembling was a particular passion of Russian born sculptor Naum Gabo (1899 1977), who worked in wood, glass, plastic, and paper, restricting the use of color to that which was inherent in the media. Gabo's subjects included heads and busts, as well as less easily identifiable objects.

Guernica Guemica is a large mural (11. 5 x 25. 7 feet) made for the Pavilion of the Spanish Republic at the Paris International Exposition. The work was inspired by the bombing of the ancient Spanish city of Guernica by German planes during the Spanish Civil War. Because the city had no military importance, the destruction served no other purpose than to test the effectiveness of large scale bombing. As a result of this "test, " the city and most of its inhabitants were destroyed. Picasso combines Expressionism and Cubism here. Like the Expressionists, he exaggerates and distorts forms. At the same time, he overlaps flat shapes in an abstract design, as did the Cubists. Picasso uses bold blacks, whites, and grays instead of color to give the impression of newsprint or newspaper photographs. Adding to the look of newsprint is the stippled effect on the horse.

1) The large central triangle, a 2) At the far right, a woman 3) In front of her, another reminder of the organizational crashes through the floor of woman dashes forward blindly technique used by such a burning building. Renaissance artists as Botticelli in panic and Raphael, links a series of tragic images. 5) A severed head with 6) Another hand 7) A woman holds a dead staring eyes rests on an 4) A clutches a broken sword child and raises her head outstretched arm, its hand horse skyward to scream out her reaching for nothing. with a horror at the planes spear in its overhead back scream s in

The painting's powerful images convey the full impact of the event far more effectively than could the words in a newspaper account, or even photographs. The artist makes no effort to show the event itself. Instead, he combines a number of vivid images to form a forceful and moving statement about the horror, the agony, and the waste of modem warfare. Picasso lived a long and full life; he was 91 years old when he died in 1973. He left behind a tremendous number of paintings, prints, and sculptures and a profound on twentieth century art. Georges Braque (1882 1963) Unlike Picasso, Georges Braque did not go through a series of dramatic style changes during his career. The changes in his painting style were more subtle and evolved gradually over time. Braque always maintained that a painting is a flat surface and should remain a flat surface. Throughout his life, he focused on ways to make that surface more interesting by using colors, lines, shapes, and textures. From 1907 to 1914, Braque worked closely with Picasso to develop Cubism. When World War I broke out, Braque was called into the army and, in 1915, was seriously wounded. In 1917, following months in recovery, he returned to his painting. From that point on, Braque's work shows a renewed respect for subject matter, more playful curves, and brighter colors. Always interested in texture, he applied his paint, often mixed with sand, in layers to build a rich, heavy surface. In this way, he said, he made his pictures more "touchable. " Georges Braque. Still Life with Fruit. 1920 23. Oil with sand on canvas.

Examples of the Art nouveau style Art Nouveau. Another art style that flourished at the same time as those mentioned in the lesson was Art Nouveau. The style, which was a reaction against both the technological revolution of the early modern period the machine age and the imitations of past styles, is characterized by the use of colored materials, molded stonework, floral motifs, curvilinear forms, wrought iron, and other unusual ornamentation. Although distortion of objects is a trait, the style is basically representational. The Art Nouveau style can be seen in both the applied and the fine arts, in everything from jewelry to furniture and architecture. A German version of this style, called Jugendstil, was practiced by Kandinsky early in his career