Expressionism
- The sound of Experiment
- Oct 21, 2024
- 7 min read
Introduction
Modern art and the art movements of the late nineteenth century were not born evolutionarily from the art of the early nineteenth century. Rather, it was the result of the collapse of values this century following the unprecedented changes that had come to the West from modernity, capitalism, and sweeping technological evolution.
Expressionism is an artistic movement of modern art that developed in the early 20th century, around the period 1890-1940 and mainly in the field of painting. A key characteristic of expressionist artists was the tendency to distort reality in their works, indifferent to a faithful and objective representation of it. Often expressionism is also distinguished by a strong emotional anguish, Characteristically, we can even say that very few expressionist works have a cheerful mood [9].
Expressionism is one of the main movements of modern times. It was first applied to poetry and painting around the beginning of the twentieth century in Northern Europe. The main distinguishing feature of expressionism is the presentation of the world exclusively from a subjective perspective. This has the effect of distorting the world in order to evoke emotions and ideas. Expressionism's emphasis on individual and subjective perspective is seen as a reaction to positivism and other artistic styles such as Naturalism and Impressionism. The expressionists wished above all to express themselves, in contrast to the impressionists who sought the objective representation of reality [1].
The current of expressionism developed mainly in Germany. In fact, there has never been a single organized group of artists calling themselves Expressionists, but rather small groups with common characteristics. Expressionist painters were influenced by several earlier painters, including Van Gogh and Munch, but also by works of African art [9].
Important precursors of Expressionism were the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), the Swedish dramatist Strindberg (1849–1912), Frank Wetekind (1864–1918), Dostoevsky (1821–1881), Van Gogh (1853–1890), and the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856–1939).
Starting Point
In art, from the last years of the 19th century and after Impressionism, the conditions for 20th century art were created. Around 1910, enthusiasm for industrial progress was followed by the realization of the change in social structures and life caused by the intensification of production, and the various movements of the artistic avant-garde began to form, aiming at changing the goals of art.
The artists, little by little, began to try to convey in an impulsive or even aggressive way the relationship between reality and the individual. In their effort to communicate through art and convey the search for truth in their works, they experimented with the explosion of color (Fauvism) and with the power of expression (Expressionism), with the search for compositional order beyond representational fidelity (Cubism), with the freedom of the artist to adopt a completely personal writing and the right to discover forms, which, freed from representation, appeal to the mind and imagination of the viewer (Abstraction).
Expressionism developed in the early 20th century, around the period 1905-1940. Although initially applied to poetry and painting, it had a significant influence on the work of the musical composers of the time. Specifically, the three central figures of musical expressionism are Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and his students Anton Webern (1883-1945) and Alban Berg (1885-1935), the so-called Second Viennese School. Other composers associated with expressionism include Ernst Krenek (1900-1991), Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), Aleksandr Scriabin (1872-1915). Some of the American composers who applied the technique are Carl Ragles (1876-1971), Dane Rudar (1895-1985), and Bela Bartok (1881-1945) [2]
Precursors of Expressionism are considered to be Van Gogh, for the intensity in color and design, the Belgian painter Ensor, for his nightmarish faces, and the Norwegian Munch, for the deep existential anguish that permeated his figures. The expressionists' source of inspiration was African and primitive art, for the rough and condensed outline of their figures (History of Art, n.d.).
Arts influenced
Modernism influenced all aspects of intellectual production: science, philosophy, visual arts, music, literature, theater and cinema. It includes philosophical, scientific and cultural currents such as Dialectical materialism, Theory of evolution of species, Theory of relativity, Quantum mechanics, Rationalism, Positivism, Realism, Automatic writing, Impressionism, Abstraction, Cubism, Expressionism, Abstract expressionism, Surrealism, Nanny, Atonal music, Neoclassicism, Postromanticism, etc. From a socio-political point of view there was a challenge of the working class against capital, as the working class no longer accepted a subordinate role in the service of capitalism.
The first art form influenced by Modernism was poetry. Poets such as the Frenchmen Charles Baudelaire, Lautreamont, Stéphane Marlamé, Arthur Rebeau, Paul Verlaine already in the second half of the 19thcentury began to experiment with the new poetic writing. A key feature of modernist poetry is the dissolution of form. Free verse took the place of metre and rhyme. Poets begin to violate grammarians and syntax rules, while sentences become fragmentary and incomplete and punctuation is removed.
As far as expressionism is concerned, it influenced most forms of art. Specifically in painting, expressionism was expressed in bright colors and accentuated contours, which often distort the form and go as far as distortion. The group "The Bridge" was dissolved in 1913, when the new group "Blue Rider" had turned to non-figurative representation.
What the painters of Expressionism sought was the direct and spontaneous expression of the inner experience. Therefore, they said, they had to return to the genesis of artistic creation with a primitive writing, as if they had never planned before. The coarseness of writing found in woodcut its best expression (History of Art, n.d.).
In music
In music, the expressionist movement influenced many composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Weber and Alban Berg, who composed works that have been described as expressionist. What distinguishes their works, in relation to the music of their contemporaries, such as Maurice Ravel or Igor Stravinsky, is the fact that they departed from traditional tonal composition by adding non-tonal elements (atonal). Perhaps characteristic expressionist The musical composition is Alban Berg's opera Lulu [9].
Adorno interpreted the expressionist movement in music as an attempt to eliminate all conventional elements of traditional music. He also considered expressionist music as a search for the truth of subjective emotion without illusions, disguises or euphemisms [2].
Compositions
Second String Quartet – Schoenberg (1907–08)
The first work we will hear on today's show is Schoenberg's "Second String Quartet". It was written between 1907 and 1908. It consists of four movements which progressively become less and less tonal. We will listen to the third part, which is undoubtedly atonal [2].
Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) was an Austrian composer, music theorist, teacher, writer and painter.
The "Second String Quartet" is considered by many music historians to be the springboard work of musical expressionism.
Bluebeard’s Castle – Bela Bartok (1911)
We will continue the show musically with the work "The Castle of the Blue Bearded" by composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945). It was written in 1911. The opera lasts a little more than an hour, so we will listen to a small excerpt.
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist [7].
"The Castle of the Blue Bearded" is a one-act opera. The libretto was written by Béla Balaz, a poet and friend of the composer. It is written in Hungarian and was based on the French literary fairy tale "Blue Bearded" by Perrault (1628-1703) [8]. It is considered as important a work as Schoenberg's "Second String Quartet".
Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10 – Anton Webern (1911-13)
We continue with the work "Five pieces for orchestra" by Anton Webern. It was written between 1911 and 1913 [2].
Anton Webern (1883-1945) was an Austrian composer whose music was one of the most radical of his time [3]. The music of Anton Webern was very close to Schoenberg's expressionism, and then his music became more and more constructivist on the surface and hid more and more its passionate expressive core [2].
Karl 5 – Ernst Krenek (1931–33)
We continue with the work "Karl 5" by composer Ernst Krenek. It was written in 1931 and 1933. The project has a duration of about an hour, we will hear the beginning of the project.
Ernst Krenek (1900–1991) was an Austrian, later American composer of Czech descent. He researched atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books [5].
Karl 5 is the first complete twelve-tone opera of full duration. It tells the story of the life of Emperor Charles V in a series of flashbacks to a split scene. These devices the composer recognized as a "cinematic" style [6].
Lulu – Alban Berg (1935)
We will close today's show with Alban Berg's "Lulu". It was written in 1935. It is considered the most important opera of the twentieth century. Lulu's work was left unfinished [2].
Alban Berg (1885–1935) was an Austrian composer. His compositional style combined romantic lyricism with twelve-tone technique [4].
Berg was greatly influenced by Wedekind and his work. In particular, Lulu's play was inspired by two plays by Frank Wedekind "The Spirit of the Earth" and "Pandora's Box". The plot tells the life of the fated Lulu who lived dangerously, destroyed any men who fell in love with her, became a prostitute and was eventually murdered by Jack the Ripper.
Wedekind focused his plays on the sexual problem and dark instincts, which he considered to be the causes of the first and fundamental conflict of the human spirit. The bourgeois society of the time was slow to grasp the violent and brutal sincerity of his style. In addition, censorship prevented several of his plays from being performed.
The opera "Lulu" is divided into three acts. In the first there is an introduction of the characters, in the second the plot is developed and the third is a series of musical variations in rhythm. Berg uses the form of a sonata in a scene in the second act and describes himself as the first theme, which enhances the immediacy and intelligibility of the plot, but contradicts the ideals of Schoenberg's expressionism [2].
Bibliography
10. History of Art. (n.d.). Retrieved August 31, 2022, from http://ebooks.edu.gr/ebooks/v/html/8547/4706/Istoria-tis-Technis_B-G-EPAL_html-apli/
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