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Making Modernism: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin
Painterly transformations of feminine identity from a group of German Expressionists Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) and Marianne Werefkin (1860–1938) are among the exceptional artists associated with the emergence of Expressionism in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century. Each challenged prevailing ideals of feminine identity at a time of great societal change. As women, they were expected to marry and raise a family; some chose to, some did not. As ambitious artists, they wanted to work.
As they rose to these challenges, their art further undermined conventions. Their portraits of children symbolize joy, hope and innocence but also melancholy, tension, curiosity, the passing of time and unfulfilled desire. Their radical depictions of the nude wrest the female body away from the male gaze toward a newfound role, expressive of powerful maternity and female subjectivity.
These dramatic modernist compositions, with their fluid brushwork and bright hues, push at the boundaries of form, color and spiritual meaning. Accompanying a major exhibition in London, this volume looks at the innovations and interconnections of these Expressionist pioneers.
As they rose to these challenges, their art further undermined conventions. Their portraits of children symbolize joy, hope and innocence but also melancholy, tension, curiosity, the passing of time and unfulfilled desire. Their radical depictions of the nude wrest the female body away from the male gaze toward a newfound role, expressive of powerful maternity and female subjectivity.
These dramatic modernist compositions, with their fluid brushwork and bright hues, push at the boundaries of form, color and spiritual meaning. Accompanying a major exhibition in London, this volume looks at the innovations and interconnections of these Expressionist pioneers.
- GenresArt
165 pages, Hardcover
Published January 10, 2023
22 people want to read
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March 17, 2024
Something a little different from me today, a few notes about this gorgeous exhibition catalogue from the Royal Academy’s Making Modernism Exhibition, which ran from November 2022 to February 2023.
One of my reading aims for 2024 is to actually sit down and read some of the art books I’ve accumulated over the past few years, mostly from shows I’ve visited in London. I’m also going to keep these pieces fairly brief, partly because I’m not an art expert – professional critics or art historians such as Laura Cumming and Andrew Graham-Dixon are much better placed than I am to do that! Instead, I’m treating these posts as opportunities to share a few photos taken during my trips.
The Making Modernism exhibition was designed to highlight the work of four brilliant female artists working in Germany during the early part of the 20th century – Paula Modersohn-Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin. While these women did not belong to a single artistic movement as such, their work was linked by Expressionism, an approach stemming from ‘an individualist philosophy’. In many respects, Expressionism could be thought of as an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict the subjective responses that objects and scenes arouse in their mind rather than a purely objective reality. I don’t think I had encountered any of these artists before visiting this exhibition, and while all four had something illuminating to offer, Modersohn-Becker and Werefkin really stood out.
Alongside the work of these four artists, the exhibition also included a small number of works by three additional women artists working in Germany at the same time – Ottilie Reylaender, Erma Bossi and Jacoba van Heemskerck. Reylaender was a particularly striking discovery for me, and I’d love to see more of her artworks in the future.
To read the rest of my piece, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2024...
One of my reading aims for 2024 is to actually sit down and read some of the art books I’ve accumulated over the past few years, mostly from shows I’ve visited in London. I’m also going to keep these pieces fairly brief, partly because I’m not an art expert – professional critics or art historians such as Laura Cumming and Andrew Graham-Dixon are much better placed than I am to do that! Instead, I’m treating these posts as opportunities to share a few photos taken during my trips.
The Making Modernism exhibition was designed to highlight the work of four brilliant female artists working in Germany during the early part of the 20th century – Paula Modersohn-Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin. While these women did not belong to a single artistic movement as such, their work was linked by Expressionism, an approach stemming from ‘an individualist philosophy’. In many respects, Expressionism could be thought of as an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict the subjective responses that objects and scenes arouse in their mind rather than a purely objective reality. I don’t think I had encountered any of these artists before visiting this exhibition, and while all four had something illuminating to offer, Modersohn-Becker and Werefkin really stood out.
Alongside the work of these four artists, the exhibition also included a small number of works by three additional women artists working in Germany at the same time – Ottilie Reylaender, Erma Bossi and Jacoba van Heemskerck. Reylaender was a particularly striking discovery for me, and I’d love to see more of her artworks in the future.
To read the rest of my piece, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2024...
Displaying 1 of 1 review