German Expressionism

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German Expressionism
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Introduction

• 1905-1920 German Expressionists depicted a
  simple, organic symbiosis based on the rhythm of
  nature alone, opposite a society ruled by Kaiser
  Wilhelm II and alienated by industry
• German Expressionism applied to all the arts
  fine art, literature, dance, architecture, and
  film
• Infuenced by van Gogh, Gauguin, Delaunay, Ensor,
  and Munch.

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Delaunays Champ des Mars The Red Tower
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Representatives of Modern Art

• Die Brucke in Dresden, tried to capture sensory
  experiences and visual impressions directly
• Der Blaue Reiter Munich, intellectual and
  determined by manifestos
  and written statements

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Overview of Expressionism

• Themes

distortions
Man and nature
Nudes
Carnivals
lines
imagination
feeling
violence
anguish
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Die Brucke (the Bridge)

• 1905 four students of architecture in Dresden
  formed a group and called it Die Brucke
  Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluf and Bleyl

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Kirchner The Red Tower in Halle 1915
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Kirchner Women in the Street
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Kirchner

• Leading personality of Die Brucke artists
• Broad contours, use of black, dark shades, sharp
  contrasts in his theme of the city
• Nervous, angular, short brush strokes
• Merges figures into masses

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Erich Heckel Nude with Fish and Birds
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The Blaue Reiter (Blue Horsemen) of Munich 1911

• Individuals (unlike close group of Die Brucke in
  Dresden)
• Examples Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc
• Started with exiled Russians, then attracted
  painters, art historians, dancers, musicians, and
  writers.
• Intellectual, diverse, spiritual, psychological

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Wassily Kandinski

• Used war themes
• As a musician, he saw music in his art
• Thought color evoked emotion
• Formal elements of line, shape, form, and color
  communicated all
• Believed in spiritual power of art

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Franz Marc
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Franz Marc

• Suffered from depression
• Expressed inner state
• Pantheistic vision of nature animals possessed
  godliness that man had lost
• But animals with their virginal sense of life
  awakened all that was good in me.
• Developed theory of color symbolism wanted to
  evoke metaphysical realms through specific color

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

• Released in 1920
• Director Robert Wiene
• Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz, writers
• Based on experiences at a fair in Hamburg and a
  military event
• Framing story added by studio
• Filmed in Germany

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Summary

• Caligari is an example of German Expressionism
• Stylized, rather than realistic, settings,
  lighting, and acting
• Three artists designed sets
• Few right angles, floors slope, windows are wider
  at the top than at the bottom, misshapen doors
  open crazily, and jagged lines and oblique angles
  dominate settings.

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World of the Mind

• Expressionistic images in the film represent the
  world as seen by the mind rather than the
  objective real world
• Raises questions
• Does framing device make distortions signify the
  view of an insane man?
• Or, does the design reflect distortions of a
  world dominated by unreasonable authority?
• The setting does not change for the epilogue (the
  true view) at the end of the movie.
• International Film historians indicated in 1958
  Caligari is one of the 12 best films of all time