DU2385 New Realisms in Germany and Czechoslovakia

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2022
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Christian Drobe, Dr. phil. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Christian Drobe, Dr. phil.
Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Thu 10:00–11:40 L35
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
After the First World War, art throughout Europe underwent a reorientation. Order and calm were sought after the horrors of the war, which led in several waves to a return to traditional forms in art. In France and Italy, this involved a return to classical ideals, oriented towards antiquity. In Germany and Czechoslovakia, realistic forms, which dated back to the 19th century, again found an increasing following. This return to figurative painting was the result of a lengthy process of debate that culminated in the 'Neue Sachlichkeit' exhibition in Mannheim in 1925. The course deals with the diversity of supposedly traditional art forms between the wars, which cannot be explained by single influences. It is true, for example, that German-Bohemian artists in particular visibly took their cue from New Objectivity in Germany. Nevertheless, there were also independent forms of new realism in Czech art. The seminar explores these exchanges on the basis of important groups of works, artists and exhibitions in Central Europe between the wars.
Learning outcomes
fter completing the course, a student will be able to:
- undestand the diversity of art forms between the wars;
- interpret important groups of works, artists and exhibitions in Central Europe between the wars.
Syllabus
  • 1. Instead of a preface: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner meets Bohumil Kubišta
  • 2. Otto Dix, George Grosz and Verism
  • 3. Genesis of New Objectivity. From Paul Westheim to Gustav F. Hartlaub
  • 4. Cactus and Still-Life? The so-called Right Wing of New Objectivity
  • 5. Young Lions in the Cage. German-Bohemian painters and their role in the First Republic
  • 6. Collage is real! Hannah Höch vs. Toyen vs. Alice Lex-Nerlinger
  • 7. Ernst Nepo & Rudolf Lehnert. New Objectivity in Austria
  • 8. Ernst Neuschul I
  • 9. Ernst Neuschul II
  • 10. Critical Primitivism? Milada Marešová / Vlasta Vostřebalová Fischerová
  • 11. Cold and possibly reactionary? Emil Utitz and the second phase of New Objectivity
  • 12. Difficult Transitions. Carlo Mense and Oskar Schlemmer in Wrocław
Literature
    recommended literature
  • BARRON, Stephanie. New objectivity : modern German art in the Weimar Republic : 1919-1933. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of art, 2015, 357 stran. ISBN 9783791354316. info
  • ČEPELÁKOVÁ, Zdenka. Mladí lvi v kleci : umělecké skupiny německy hovořících výtvarníků z Čech, Moravy a Slezska v meziválečném období. Edited by Anna Habánová, Photo by Jan Brodský. Vyd. 1. V Řevnicích: Arbor vitae, 2013, 437 s. ISBN 9788085050998. info
  • CROCKETT, Dennis. German post-expressionism : the art of the great disorder 1918-1924. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999, xix, 215. ISBN 0271017961. info
  • HABÁNOVÁ, Anna, Keith HOLZ, Ivo HABÁN, Jiří HORNÍČEK, Zsófia KISS-SZEMÁN, Bohunka KOKLESOVÁ, Barbora KUNDRAČÍKOVÁ, Jana MIGÁŠOVÁ, Helena MUSILOVÁ, Milan PECH, Alena POMAJZLOVÁ, Lubomír SPURNÝ and Barbora SVOBODOVÁ. New Realisms : Modern Realist Approaches across the Czechoslovak scene 1918-1945. Liberec: Národní památkový ústav, 2019, 487 pp. ISBN 978-80-87810-43-9. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussions, seminar presentations, homework, reading
Assessment methods
A written essay of 7 - 10 A4 pages (based on 1800 characters per page).
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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