Week 9: Art Between the Wars
Later Cubism
Pablo Picasso (WebMuseum)
Three Musicians 1921. And see a different version from Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Guernica 1937. The Museum of Modern Art in New York houses this print of the Minotauromachy (Battle with the Minotaur, 1935); read about the connection with Picasso's response to the destruction of the Basque town of Guernica. And see this page for an in-depth explanation of the picture, or this page from PBS.
Fernand Léger (Wikipedia)
The City 1919
Three Women 1921 (for a zoomable image, click here)
Ballet Mechanique represents Leger's foray into experimental film (13 min.), for those who are contemplating this option for a final project. Some of it's pretty goofy, but there are some interesting and inspiring sequences.
Alexander Calder Although not properly thought of as a Cubist, Calder moved Cubist ideas into an even more three-dimensional realm than Picasso and Braque had done with their own sculptures. He also demonstrates the reach of Cubist influence in the twentieth century.
Portrait of a Man, 1929-30
Mobile 1932
Expressionism and later developments
Expressionism (and related movements: Fauvism, Blaue Reiter, Die Brücke, etc.) enjoyed a long evolutionary journey that probably begins with Vincent van Gogh; the works listed below, however, indicate the range of possibility inherent in the idea of art as a mode of emotional expression. Additional links: see especially MoMA's exhibition, Artists of Brücke: Themes in German Expressionist Prints, which includes graphic works by artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Nolde, who are discussed in the film on "Degenerate Art." For the connections between German Expressionism and film, see this article by David Hudson from Green Cine.
Oskar Kokoshka See also this review from the New York Times on the exhibit of Kokoschka's work at the Neue Galerie in New York.
The Tragedy of Man 1908
Self Portrait 1913
Portrait of a Degenerate Artist ca. 1937.
Self Portrait 1911
The Artist's Room 1911
Reclining Woman with Green Stockings 1919
See MoMA's article on Schiele for more information.
Large Blue Horses 1911
Fighting Forms 1914
Henri Matisse
The Dessert, or Harmony in Red 1908. See also the Webmuseum page on Matisse, (and on the Fauves, which he led), and the National Gallery of Art's exhibit on Matisse and the Fauves.
La Danse (MoMA version) 1909 and La Danse (Hermitage version) 1910
Odalisque with Red Culottes 1921
Two Dancers (study for Rouge et Noir); cut paper 1938
Constructivism, Suprematism, Futurism
These movements share common elements, but are distinguishable according to purpose and style. Know the differences.
Vladimir Tatlin, Model for the Third International tower 1919-20 and a research article from the Tate Papers. See also the Wikipedia article on the tower, with links.
Cover for Monument to the Third International by Nikolai Punin 1920. See additional images at MoMA's page on Tatlin's graphic work.
Tatlin's debt to Cubism is apparent in two earlier works: Sailor (1911), and Female Model (1910-14). All of the Tatlin images except the MoMa graphics are from George Mitrevski's course page on Russian art at Auburn University.
Relief 1914 (collage of metal and leather on wood; from the Artchive)
Kasimir Malevich (Read Malevich's manifesto on Suprematism at the Artchive); a number of graphic works are available on MoMA's site.
Morning in Country after Snowstorm 1912
Woodcutter 1912
Suprematism 1915
Suprematist Composition, 1915
Red Square: Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions 1915
Cover of Solntse na izlete (Spent sun), Poems by Konstantin Bolshakov, 1916
Dust jacket from Had gadya (One goat), Children's illustrated book based on the Jewish Passover song 1919
Proun Space Created for a Berlin Art Exhibition 1923 (Reconstruction from 1971; the image is from the Tate Papers article on replicating art works; the segment below it is about Moholy Nagy's Lichtspiel). For an explanation of Lissitzky's Proun spaces, see this Guggenheim Collection site
Self Portrait 1905
Elasticity 1912
Development of a Bottle in Space 1912
Unique Form of Continuity in Space 1913
Although related, and although they overlap, Surrealism and Dada promote separate agendas and are reflected in very different styles. Artists may participate in both movements, but their works can be classified as one or the other. Be sure to understand the characteristics that determine which movement is being represented by which work.
As usual, the Artchive has a good introductory section on Dada and Surrealism. The full text of the Surrealist Manifesto (1924), as well as the Dada manifesto are available from this course page. Best of all: see the Timeline of Art History page on Surrealism from the Met.
Marcel Duchamp (The link is to a page called "Making Sense of Marcel Duchamp"--visit it on a machine that can handle Flash, and all will be revealed. All of the works below are represented on the site.)
Nude Descending a Staircase #2 1912; note that although Duchamp did not exhibit as a Cubist, this work represents his "voice" in the Cubist conversation.
Fountain 1917 (Here's the history of the Fountain, from Cabinet Magazine; click on the link to the left of the article for further info. There's also a chart in .pdf)
L. H. O. O. Q. 1919-1940
Given: 1 The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas 1943. This is impossible to convey effectively in the classroom (at least for me, at the moment), but I wanted you to be able to see it.
Giorgio de Chirico The Mystery and Melancholy of a Street 1914 (Olga's Gallery). The Artchive has an article by Robert Hughes on de Chirico.
The Conquest of the Philosopher 1914
The Archaeologists 1927 (a 1968 version can be seen here)
Max Ernst The Hat Makes the Man 1920. For further images and a short article, see the Artchive page on Ernst.
Oedipus 1922
The Forest 1927-28 (grattage technique)
Alice in 1941 (MoMA)
Wolfgang Paalen Fumage 1937 (see also this page on the fumage technique)
Les étrangers, 1937
Salvador Dali The Accommodations of Desire 1929
Persistence of Memory 1931. This is MoMA's page from its collection, including a multimedia presentation on the painting (scroll down).
Untitled (Petit thêatre) 1934For a decent site on Dali and his work, go to the Dali Museum --or better yet (if you can handle Java applets) visit the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dali which allows you to zoom in on images (click on "English" unless you're fluent in Spanish).
Rene Magritte The Treachery of Images 1928-29. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has a good page on an exhibition of Magritte's works (including this one, which gives its title to the exhibit) and how to understand them.
Time Transfixed 1938The Eternally Obvious 1948 (Met)
Persian Letters 1958 (Dallas Museum of Art; click on"Art Objects"; then click on the image--it's the last one).
The Magritte Site has a biography and some images, and the Artchive page on Magritte offers an article and links to images.
Art Deco/Art Moderne
Influenced by all of the above, Art Deco itself (named after the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes) had an enormous influence on design in the '20s and '30s. In addition to the images shown in class, you should explore a variety of Art Deco designers, brief biographies of whom can be found on this page: A Dictionary of Art Deco Designers (50 in all). There are a number of books in the Kelley Library on various international interpretations of Art Moderne: Dutch, Japanese, Spanish, etc. Be able to recognize and describe the style.
William van Allen The Chrysler Building 1928-30 (the image is fuzzy, though; here's a nice shot from the UK.)
Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann David Weill Desk, c. 1918
Walter Dorwin Teague Camera and Box 1931
Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) Elegance and Premier (n.d.)
Numerals from the Tate in London 1968
For what's available online (other than pages that want to sell you stuff) see the Artcylopedia page on Erté.
Additional Resources |
Special
Exhibit at the Met "Although often romanticized as the backdrop for erotic cabaret shows and sexual licentiousness, German cities of the 1920s were actually in the throes of rampant unemployment, hyperinflation, and social panic. After the initial patriotic fervor for—followed by the crippling devastation of— World War I, a group of artists known as the Verists questioned their own involvement in the atrocities and focused on the country's quickly changing social landscape and uncertain political future." (from the exhibit description at the link; featured artists include Max Beckmann and Otto Dix.) Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914–1939 is another new exhibit from the Met, featuring some rather wonderful prints by both familiar and unfamiliar artists. The Rape of Europa is a recent (2006) film about the art pilferage problem. The website provides information and sources. On a similar subject (in part) and about some of the artists we're discussing this week, see Tim Robbins's 1996 film, The Cradle Will Rock. Art of the Western World through the Annenberg CPB Project (Modernism). This segment is called "Into the Twentieth Century" and is divided into two parts; one covers up to Cubism, and the second deals with the aftermath. (It's also available in the Kelley Library). The Minneapolis Institute of Arts exhibit on Modernism includes many of the artists and movements from this point on. See also my links page on Degenerate Art for information on works targeted by Nazi propaganda. We will be watching a film on this exhibit next week. American art (1920-1945) American
Modern 1925-1940 (Met) Here's an interesting exhibit of Czech Book Covers of the 1920s and '30s from the Smithsonian Institution. Go to "Explore the Collection" and click on "View Covers by Stlye" De Stijl ArtLex has a slightly cheesy but useful info page; see also these pages on Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondrian. Here's a page of Dutch stamps featuring Mondrian works. Read Theo van Doesburg's manifesto on neoplasticism, from The-artist.org's page on De Stijl. Geritt
Rietveld's Shroeder House (Great Buildings Online) International
Style This page from Kathleen Cohen's gallery of Cultural Encounters at San Jose State University focuses on Modernist works that were inspired by African art: Out of Africa. I'd also suggest clicking back through the gallery to see many images from earlier periods, and then images from other regions. The Twenties and Thirties: The Great Depression and the years leading up to it provided fruitful ground for design--and often public support for artists. The exhibit A New Deal for the Arts provides a brief history of the era and illustrative images. Constructivism Russian Constructivism is informative, as is this one, the-artist.org's Constructivism. See also: the Art of the 20th Century page on Constructivism. In addition, see these pages on Futurism and Suprematism. Kasimir Malevich was both a Constructivist and a Suprematist (this page comes from a rather interesting site on the history of Russian Painting). Dada While not properly speaking a "design movement" the Dadaists inspired a number of twentieth-century designers. The best page I've found is the Cabaret Voltaire. Here are some Marcel Duchamp links, and here's a page of links from Tout-Fait, The Marcel Duchamp Studies Online Journal. Surrealism Surrealism (Artcyclopedia) The effects of this movement on modern design are almost uncalculable. In addition to Salvador Dali (see the Official Dali Website; and the Salvador Dali Art Gallery which contains thousands of images), however, it's important to look at other members of the movement. Start with the Surrealism Server, which is pretty surreal. You might also want to try this page on Surrealism, which may be more just-plain-goofy than surreal. Then search by artist, but stick with the historical folks: Ernst, Miró, Tanguy, Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Arp, André Masson, Joseph Cornell, etc. For background on Surrealist Techniques, see this Wikipedia page. Surrealism: Desire Unbound (Met) New at the Met: Max Ernst: A Retrospective Wolfgang Paalen Archiv features the work of another Surrealist--the one who invented the fumage technique. Joseph Cornell, of whom I am especially fond, was a collagist, filmmaker, and writer. See this review of his film, Rose Hobart, and these sites: Art Minimal and Conceptual Only (part of a larger site by Maria Lewis, with some useful information and images) The WebMuseum page on Cornell Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination includes a slide show; from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. For a fascinating look into Cornell's imagination, see the Smithsonian's collection, Joseph Cornell's Papers Online. The Peabody Essex Museum's interactive feature on Cornell, also called Navigating the Imagination, loads slowly and requires Flash, but it's nicely done. Message in a Box, a transcript with images of a PBS broadcast on Cornell. In part because of her relationship with Andre Breton, Frida Kahlo is often considered a Surrealist. The recent film paid more attention to the Kahlo-Rivera love story than to her art and politics, but here are some sites on her work: Mark Harden's Artchive page with a biography and some links Frida Kahlo, The Surrealist? an article by Lucyeileen Hernandez Culture, Politics, and Identity in the Paintings of Frida Kahlo, a paper by Janice Helland, used in a course on Frida Kahlo, Women and Surrealism at Michigan State Univeristy. Typing in "Frida Kahlo" on Google will get you millions of poster shops with images. The Kelley Library owns a film on Frida, as well as one on Diego Rivera--which is quite good but does not mention Frida once. Go figure. When I visited Chicago in October of 2002, I saw an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art of works by Roberto Matta--who was then still alive (he died at 91 last November). A gallery of his work is available here. And check the Wikipedia article for a list of works and some images, as well as a biography. A recent article in the New York Times Magazine introduced me to Leonora Carrington (the ads are annoying on this site; sorry), who seems to be one of the last remaining Surrealists (she's 90 and lives in Mexico; here's an interview with her). This just goes to show you that it pays to go to museums, and to read; their work has led me to a new appreciation of Surrealism. Another of Max Ernst's wives, Dorothea Tanning, is also a Surrealist. The Tate has a number of her works. Oldest Living Surrealist Tells All is an article from Salon, written in 2002. She's now 97. |