Expressionism (1924-1940s)

City Life MoMA Expressionism Theme

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 (reworked 1919; dated on painting 1907). Oil on canvas, 59 1/4" x 6' 6 7/8" (150.5 x 200.4 cm). Purchase 12.1951 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 MoMA Expressionism Theme

Let’s compare a painting and a lithograph Share this information with your students: The image on the left is a lithograph, made the same year Kirchner painted Street, Dresden on the right. A lithograph is a print made by drawing onto a stone using a greasy crayon ink. The process is based on the principle that grease and water do not mix. To create a lithograph, the stone is flushed with water, which is repelled by the crayon. Next the stone is inked, which is absorbed by the crayon. The image is printed onto paper from the stone, and can be re-inked many times without wear. Besides the obvious media, what are the differences between these two images? Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Streetlife in Dresden (Strassenleben in Dresden). 1908. Lithograph, composition: 10 9/16 x 15 1/8" (26.9 x 38.4 cm); sheet: 17 3/8 x 21 1/2" (44.1 x 54.6 cm). Publisher: unpublished. Printer: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Dresden. Edition: 9 known impressions. Purchase 36.1951 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 (reworked 1919; dated on painting 1907). Oil on canvas, 59 1/4" x 6' 6 7/8" (150.5 x 200.4 cm). Purchase 12.1951 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Streetlife in Dresden. 1908. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street, Dresden. 1908 How are these images similar? How are they different? MoMA Expressionism Theme

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Houses at Night. 1912 Oil on canvas, 37 5/8 x 34 1/2" (95.6 x 87.4 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bareiss. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 156.1957 Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Houses at Night. 1912 MoMA Expressionism Theme

George Grosz. Metropolis (Grossstadt). 1917. Oil on board, 26 3/4 x 18 3/4" (68 x 47.6 cm). Purchase. © 2012 Estate of George Grosz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY 136.1946 George Grosz. Metropolis (Grossstadt). 1917. MoMA Expressionism Theme

Nature MoMA Expressionism Theme

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Winter Moonlit Night (Wintermondnacht). 1919. Share this information with your students: The composition of this print has strong diagonals that crisscross the image. Where do they intersect? What role do the intersections play in the composition? Kirchner has inverted the colors in this print, making the normal color of blue sky a rocky brown and the normal color of rocky mountains the color of blue sky. Does this give you any ideas about how he felt about this landscape? Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Winter Moonlit Night (Wintermondnacht). 1919. Woodcut, composition (irreg.): 12 x 11 5/8" (30.5 x 29.5 cm); sheet (irreg.): 12 11/16 x 12 5/16" (32.2 x 31.2 cm). Publisher: unpublished. Printer: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Davos-Frauenkirch, Switzerland. Edition: 12 known impressions. Purchase 495.1949 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Winter Moonlit Night (Wintermondnacht). 1919. MoMA Expressionism Theme

Max Pechstein. Killing of the Banquet Roast (Erlegung des Festbratens) from the periodical Der Sturm, vol. 2, no. 93 (January 1912). 1911 (published 1912). Woodcut, with watercolor additions, composition: 8 7/8 x 10 3/8" (22.6 x 26.4 cm); sheet: 9 7/16 x 11 7/16" (24 x 29 cm). Publisher: Verlag Der Sturm, Berlin. Printer: Carl Hause, Berlin. Edition: Special edition, signed, with watercolor additions: 100 [this ex.]; regular edition: unknown (several 1000). Purchase. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 458.1953 Max Pechstein. Killing of the Banquet Roast (Erlegung des Festbratens) from the periodical Der Sturm, vol. 2, no. 93 (January 1912). 1911 (published 1912). MoMA Expressionism Theme

Franz Marc. Horses Resting (Ruhende Pferde). 1911. Share this information with your students: During the early years of the 20th century, German painter Franz Marc devoted much of his artistic energy to creating images of horses and other animals. The allure of animals … stemmed from a deep fascination with the dynamic connection between animals, humans, and the natural world they shared. Longing to understand the spirit driving his own being, Marc looked to the horse in nature to perceive what he could not recognize in the human world. Through radical compositions and bold experiments with color, he strove to express the primary energy of the animals. (Text from the exhibition: Franz Marc and The Blue Rider, Walker Art Center, April-July 2001. http://collections.walkerart.org/item/archive/2577) Does this image give you any clues about why Franz Marc used horses as a central image in many of his works? What kinds of energy might the horse represent in this print? What parallels does this energy have in the human world? Franz Marc. Horses Resting (Ruhende Pferde). 1911. Woodcut, composition: 6 5/8 x 9 1/16" (16.8 x 23 cm); sheet: 11 1/4 x 15 3/4" (28.6 x 40 cm). Publisher: Verlag Der Sturm, Berlin. Printer: Franz Marc. Edition: approx. 3 impressions, printed in black; an unknown number of impressions (approx. 10-15), printed in color [this ex.]; 10 signed and numbered, printed in color, published by Verlag Der Sturm, Berlin; an unknown number, printed in black, in the periodical Der Sturm, vol. 3, no. 146/147 (February 1913); plus a posthumous edition of 30 issued by Otto Stangl, Munich, and printed by Gerhard Köhler, Baden-Baden, in 1984. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller 416.1940 Franz Marc. Horses Resting (Ruhende Pferde). 1911. MoMA ExpressionismTheme

War MoMA Expressionism Theme

Take a close look at Explosion, by George Grosz… Is this painting terrifying, or beautiful, or both? What elements contribute to each impression? Share this information with your students: Is this painting terrifying, or beautiful, or both? What elements contribute to each impression? George Grosz Explosion. 1917. Oil on composition board, 18 7/8 x 26 7/8" (47.8 x 68.2 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irving Moskovitz. © 2012 Estate of George Grosz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY 780.1963 George Grosz Explosion. 1917. MoMA Expressionism Theme

Otto Dix. Skull (Schädel) from The War (Der Krieg). 1924. Otto Dix. Shock Troops Advance under Gas (Sturmtruppe geht unter Gas vor) from The War (Der Krieg). 1924. Etching, aquatint, and drypoint from a portfolio of fifty etching, aquatint and drypoints, plate: 7 5/8 x 11 5/16" (19.3 x 28.8 cm); sheet: 13 11/16 x 18 5/8" (34.8 x 47.3 cm). Paper: Cream, smooth, wove. Publisher: Karl Nierendorf, Berlin. Printer: Otto Felsing, Berlin. Edition: 70. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 159.1934.12 Skull (Schädel) from The War (Der Krieg). 1924. Etching from a portfolio of fifty etching, aquatint and drypoints, plate: 10 1/16 x 7 11/16" (25.5 x 19.6 cm); sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 11/16" (46.4 x 34.8 cm). Paper: Cream, smooth, laid. Publisher: Karl Nierendorf, Berlin. Printer: Otto Felsing, Berlin. Edition: 70. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 159.1934.31 Otto Dix. Shock Troops Advance under Gas (Sturmtruppe geht unter Gas vor) from The War (Der Krieg). 1924. Otto Dix. Skull (Schädel) from The War (Der Krieg). 1924. MoMA Expressionism Theme

Max Beckmann. The Grenade (Die Granate). (1915, published 1918). Drypoint, plate: 15 5/16 x 11 3/8" (38.9 x 28.9 cm); sheet (irreg.): 21 1/4 x 17 11/16" (54 x 45 cm). Paper: Cream, smooth, wove "japan". Publisher: Paul Cassirer, Berlin. Printer: probably Pan-Presse, Berlin. Edition: 20. Mary Ellen Meehan Fund, Johanna and Leslie J. Garfield Fund, and Frances Keech Fund. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 12.1996 Max Beckmann. The Grenade (Die Granate). (1915, published 1918). MoMA Expressionism Theme