Video Reviews: Matisse and Picasso & Expressionism

I chose the video Matisse and Picasso because, although I'm very familiar with each of their artistic styles, I had never heard that they had a mutual respect for, and interest in, each others work.

The video titled Expressionism interested me because I am also currently taking a class with Dr. Alice Pennisi called 'Arts in Living' and we have discussed and looked at some of the Expressionists works and their relationship to WWI and WWII.

Although Picasso was Spanish and younger than Matisse, who was from France, they shared many similarities. They both put their painting careers above all else, in Matisse's case, he went so far as to leave his wife and three children to paint in Nice. Neither one felt that their passion to paint was a choice, they simply had to pursue their art. When WWI broke out in 1914 Picasso felt compelled to enlist in the Spanish army, while at 45 years of age, Matisse was considered 'too old' to fight. Both artists love women, and love to paint them. Picasso seeks to break apart the female figure with cubism, and Matisse is on an endless search for simplicity. Each day Picasso would paint, and the next day, he would simply paint over the previous day's work. Matisse would simply wipe-out his day's work with turpentine, and start over on the same subject the next day. When the Germans were on their way to Paris in 1940, both Picasso and Matisse decided to stay in their beloved city. Although their artwork was "diametrically opposed", they were "brothers in anguish" and held a deep respect for one another.

The video on Expressionism featured artists Edvard Munch, Franz Marc, Ernst Ludwig Kirschner, Max Beckmann, Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefner. The Expressionists, which included the mini-groups Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brucke. As a whole, the Expressionist work can be categorized as, aside from Norwegian Edvard Munch, German painters who sought to paint not just what can be seen, but what can be felt. Many of the Expressionists struggled with depression, anxiety, despair, recurring nightmares - in other words pure emotion and "...extreme states of mind". Bold color, strong patterns, and unique subject matter marked the Expressionists style. Almost all of the Expressionists were affected by the devastation seen in WWI. Artist Franz Marc was killed in battle in 1916, and Anselm Kiefer, born in 1945, painted the aftermath of Germany post-WWII. Max Beckmann was accused by the Nazi Party of creating degenerate art, and fled to Holland. I find many of the paintings of the Expressionists to be grotesque and disturbing. But not all art is meant to be a pretty picture. The world at the beginning of the 20th century was in turmoil, and the Expressionist movement was a way for these artists, perhaps in a therapeutic way, to paint how they were feeling.

Both films were excellent and surely added to the readings. It was fascinating to see so many different photos of Matisse and Picasso at work in their studios; in some cases the paintings in the photographs do not even exist outside of the photo; Matisse often erased his day's work, and Picasso would paint over another painting. Some of the Expressionist artists in the video were new to me, I was not familiar with the work of Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefer, and I found both artists' work to be intriguing. In particular, Anselm Kiefer's Interior, which was modeled after one of Hitler's rooms, also had many similarities to Italian Renaissance artist DaVinci's Last Supper fresco in Milan. Both the fresco and the oil painting utilized geometrical perspective of the ceiling. Interior is cold and empty, devoid of human activity which is so clearly portrayed by DaVinci. Perhaps he is representing a post-war Germany in mourning.




4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?