Fauvism and German Expressionism: Color, Emotion, and Abstraction

Fauvism

Henri Matisse was the main figure of the movement. His primary motivation was to create art that acted as a mental painkiller. The public was horrified by the strident and striking works of the Fauvists. All representatives of Fauvism, in one form or another, painted with great freedom and were characterized by prioritizing color.

They employed arbitrary, pure color regardless of the subject of the painting. Faces appear represented in green, hair in yellow, rivers in blue, and trees in violet; reality is completely transformed according to the artist's sensibility. The Fauvists looked back to primitive art and received influences from Post-Impressionists:

• Paul Gauguin: The independence of color and form.
• Vincent Van Gogh: The exaltation of colors.
• Paul Cézanne: Loss of depth.

The Fauvists worked on the same topics as the Impressionists (portraits, landscapes, interiors).

German Expressionism

From the tangled social and political climate of Germany, a generation of artists was born who rejected the prevailing sociopolitical structure. The production of these Expressionist artists differs in formal aspects, but all agreed on one thing: turning their work into a rejection of the traditional realistic representation of nature and the aesthetics of the era.

German Expressionism had two sides, each with different characteristics but the same goal: to make the work of art a medium of expression and communication. These two groups were called Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider).

Die Brücke (The Bridge)

On June 7, 1905, four students founded the group Die Brücke. These young people shared not only their artistic life but also their simplest daily experiences. They believed in the formation of a new human brotherhood that only collective efforts could achieve, overcoming the turbulence of the era. The group disbanded in 1913.

The Legacy of Expressionism

Expressionism modified the position of the artist. The painter stopped merely reproducing the object and instead sought to recreate the emotional expressions of their own being. The posture of Der Blaue Reiter was distinct. For them, the subject matter was merely a pretext for the painting. Therefore, the elements of their painting became increasingly autonomous, and the work itself became the main content.

Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider): Second Stage

The group Der Blaue Reiter was formed in 1911. The name was due to Franz Marc's love for horses and Wassily Kandinsky's taste for riders, as well as their shared affinity for the color blue. With this group, Expressionism started its second stage.

The objective of this group was to find spirituality in art, which led many artists to complete abstraction. Their first derived abstract paintings were created between 1910 and 1913. The group disappeared with World War I. In 1914, the artists held their last exhibition.

Marc and August Macke were killed in the conflict; Kandinsky went to Russia, and the rest were scattered around Europe.