European Avant-Garde Movements: 1914-1930s

Europe at War

Europe was at war in 1914. The First World War erupted, resulting in millions of deaths and food shortages. After the war, there was an increased distrust of democracy and capitalism, favoring communism and fascism. There was an intellectual revolution; new ideologies emerged from manifestos, scientific advances, etc. In Spain during the 1920s, social unrest and economic collapse led to a discrediting of the Restoration. In 1923, Primo de Rivera staged a coup and installed a dictatorship.

Avant-Garde Movements

There were social movements that tried to make a revolution. There was a rejection of contemporary avant-garde art, and some were active in political parties with little success. The interwar period was the heyday of avant-garde literature. The "isms" were abundant but fleeting, reflecting a changing society. Avant-garde movements are characterized by:

• Rejection of previous artistic expression
• Creativity and originality above all
• Experimentation
• Unreason
• Elitism
• Rebellion and provocation
• Playful intent

In literature, the most important avant-garde tendencies are:

• Futurism

  Characterized by the radical rejection of the past, the attraction of newly created machines, unsentimentality, and violence. In Futurist techniques, images are emphasized where Fauvism is eliminated. Henri Matisse.

• Dadaism

  Founded in 1916 by Tristan Tzara, it highlights destructive zeal, constant derision, and nihilism. It seeks spontaneity and improvisation and is against art and beauty.

• Cubism

  Guillaume Apollinaire attempted to bring reality from different points of view all at once.

• Expressionism

  Based on the interpretation of reality and inner turmoil. Its themes are fear, war, loss of individual identity, and global destruction.

• Surrealism

  Andre Breton highlights that Surrealism was the longest avant-garde movement and produced the most works. It was interested in the subconscious, dreams, and mental mechanisms not subject to reason. The sources of Surrealism are Dada and psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud). Surrealist techniques are automatic writing and exquisite corpses.

• Ultraism

  Influences of Ramon de la Serna, Guillermo de Torre, and Ortega y Gasset. Its features are full artistic consciousness, the selective influence of the avant-garde, and acceptance of the past. It expresses a desire for innovation; its principles are diverse sources, ephemeral art, and emotional absence.

• Creationism

  Settled in literature, it uses new art, the poet as a god, and poetic language. Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948) showed a great capacity for inventing new images. His works include "Arctic Poems" and "Citizen of Oblivion." The most important is "Altazor," published in 1931, which contains a prose preface. It is a way of inventing a new poetic language and is divided into seven songs.

Ramon Gomez de la Serna

Ramon Gomez de la Serna configured his own movement, "Ramonism." Its features are a fragmentary vision, objectification and humanization, and unusual associations with humor. His most outstanding works are:

• In theater: "The Half-Loved" and "Uninhabited Palace Drama"
• Novels: "The Incongruous" and "The Improbable Doctor"
• In Ramonism: "The Dawn," "Circus," and "Trail"
• His autobiography is called "Automoribundia."

His creations are lauded in the outcry that uses literary devices, paronomasia, and humor.