From Romanticism to Expressionism - German Painting between Depitction of Nature and Abstraction

The liberation of the artists subject from any regulating force within German expressionism has romantic origins. While the great romantic Caspar David Friedrich was oriented to the natural model in his landscape paintings, creative fantasy also played a major role in his compositions. In this respect, we can draw a bow from Friedrichs romanticism to the realism of Adolph Menzel, the Impressionism of Max Liebermann, Max Slevogt and Lovis Corinth and the unrestricted subjectivity in works of Expressionists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and the artists group “Die Brücke” or Wassily Kandisky and “Der blaue Reiter”. On the basis of a profound discussion of theoretical texts an integral part of the seminar will be the close analysis of composition and style of selected and representative works which show the artists balancing act between depiction of nature and abstraction in the course of the whole 19th century until the early 20th century. On behalf of this, the red thread should be carved out, which runs from german romantic painting to famous classical modern works.

Required text: Uerlings: Theorie der Romantik (Reclam).