1st Edition

New Perspectives on Brücke Expressionism Bridging History

Edited By Christian Weikop Copyright 2011
    344 Pages
    by Routledge

    344 Pages
    by Routledge

    New Perspectives on Brücke Expressionism: Bridging History brings together highly-renowned international art historians in a scholarly work that offers the first full-length reassessment in English of the importance of the Brücke group to German modernism specifically and to international modernism more generally. It challenges, interrogates and updates existing orthodoxies in the field of Brücke studies by deploying new research combined with innovative interpretative approaches. This is an exciting volume of essays with an interlinking tripartite structure that charts the significance of this pioneering German avant-garde group in relation to various critical themes, namely, 'cultural and material identity', 'collectivity and selfhood', as well as 'defamation and rehabilitation'. The book is unique in the field in that it seeks to excavate specific historical research relating to the activities of the Brücke as a bohemian yet nonetheless enterprising artists' community, and considers the contributions of the key members in relation to the dynamics of that group rather than simply on an individual basis. It thoroughly explores the historiography of the Brücke artists' reception throughout the turbulent history of the twentieth century up until the present day.

    Contents: Preface; Part I Cultural and Material Identity: Introduction, Christian Weikop; Brücke, German expressionism and the issue of modernism, Rose-Carol Washton Long; Brücke, French art and German national identity, Timothy O. Benson; Some re-considerations of Brücke's 'new German style': shape, components and ramifications, Reinhold Heller; Wood - 'primitive' material for the creation of 'German sculpture', Monika Wagner. Part II Collectivity and Selfhood: Introduction, Christian Weikop; Künstlergruppe Brücke and the public sphere: bridging the gender divide, Shulamith Behr; Difficult Kirchner - alternative traditions, visual tensions, autodidactism, Colin Rhodes; Otto Mueller and the Brücke: a creative dialogue, Tanja Pirsig-Marshall; Max Pechstein: outsider or trailblazer?, Aya Soika; Intersubjectivity and selfhood of the Brücke: a Kohutian perspective, Donald Kuspit. Part III Defamation and Rehabilitation: Introduction, Christian Weikop; Old masters of modern art: Brücke after 1945, John-Paul Stonard; The art of Brücke as a political issue, Christian Saehrendt; The British reception of Brücke and German expressionism, Christian Weikop; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Christian Weikop is an expert on nineteenth- and twentieth-century German art and culture, and has lectured at various institutions in the UK and Germany.

    ’... this anthology delves into fresh topics and approaches, pointing the way to further research. The book’s strength is also found in Weikop’s thoughtful introductions which effectively link the essays into a whole, while also introducing new concerns, particularly the way artists after the 1970s have alluded to the group and its art for new purposes.’ Sherwin Simmons, Burlington Magazine

    '... a publication that offers a wealth of detailed research on the Brücke artists and their works... It is handsomely produced with numerous black and white illustrations... [and] provides invaluable background information about the group’s endeavours and the reception given to its art, both in Germany and elsewhere.' Averil King, Apollo

    'This work offers informative essays by an international team of scholars of the early-20th-century German artistic movement... The debate over the Brücke artists and their work during the National Socialist era is particularly enlightening... Recommended.' W. S. Bradley, Choice

    '... an extremely useful contribution to the literature on the Brücke.' David Ehrenpreis, James Madison University, USA