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Woman with Dead Child
This etching by Kathe Kollwitz was a German Expressionist who expressed grief and not disdain with society. She took the theme from the Christian Pieta and transformed it into something universal by taking away the reverence and grace of the Pieta. Yet she fits in with the German Expressionists because of the primal nature of the artwork.
Source: Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, 13e -
Woman with the Hat
Henry Fatisse painted this oil painting of his wife Amelie. As a main part of the Fauve group, he used color as the main tool in conveying his meaning as well as the sketchiness of the form. He used pure colors rather than imitative colors.
Source: Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, 13e -
Demoiselles D'Avignon
In this oil on canvas by Picasso, he explores new ways of expression. He makes the female's shapes jagged and interwoven with the jagged drapery and empty space. Moreover, the figures are depicted without consistency: the two figures on the right are inspired from African sculpture. These figures also show their bodies from multiple angles at once.
Source: Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History, 13e -
Improvisation 28
Kandinsky formed the German Expressionist Group, Der Blaue Reiter. In his oil on canvas, Improvisation 28, complete abstraction is explored for the first time. His lack of representational forms came from his interest in theosophy, the occult, and advances in the sciences. Due to the atomic structure exploration of the time, he felt that no objects had read substance and therefore thought that artists should express by color, form, line, and space instead.
Source:Gardner's Art Through the Ages, -
The Two Fridas
This oil on canvas is a self portrait of Kahlo. The two figures suggest the two different sides of Kahlo's personality. Moreover, the self-portrait also shows the identity struggle of Mexicans in the early 20th century. The right Frida is in a Tehuana dress which is a traditional costume of Zapotec women. The Frida on the left is in a European dress and represents the imperialist forces. The bloodletting is also an allusion to the Aztec civilization.
Source: Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 13e
