Expressionism - A German Intuition 1905-1920

Expressionism—a German Intuition. 1905-1920 is a survey that links a number of separate but related developments. The title reaffirms the generally held view that Expressionism of the early twentieth century is a style and a sensibility specifically German. The brief chronological span of the exhibition eliminates from consideration immediate precursor movements such as Jugendstil—the German variant of Art Nouveau—or German Impressionism as well as Expressionism's deeper roots in nineteenth-century German Romanticism and in other expressive currents that revealed themselves throughout the history of art. At the other end, the closing year of 1920 is intended to restrict the survey to the originators of German Expressionism rather than to follow the transformation of the Expressionists' initiate awareness into late manifestations and into various successor movements. Stylistically. German Expressionism is not so easily isolated. There remain interesting if art-historically unresolved issues, including the relationship of the Brücke to the Blaue Reiter on the one hand, and to a second generation of predominantly urban painters such as Grosz, Dix, and the young Beckmann on the other.