Art in Focus

Chapter 23: Art of the Early Twentieth Century

Lesson Summaries-English

          At the beginning of the twentieth century, artists introduced many new styles and pointed the way for future innovations. At first, new styles were created in Europe. Later, American art exhibited a bold new character and became the source of inspiration.

Lesson 1
Many Movements in European Art

          At the turn of the century, a series of new art movements began in Europe. The first of these was started by the artists called Fauves, or “Wild Beasts.” As seen in the work of their leader, Henri Matisse, the Fauves used bold colors, flat shapes, and lively line patterns. Matisse created simple, patterned designs in order to give pleasure to his viewers. Another Fauve, Georges Roualt, illustrated the more sorrowful side of life by enclosing rich color areas with heavy, dark lines.

          In Germany, a movement known as Expressionism was especially interested in communicating strong emotions. Artists such as Paula Modersohn-Becker and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner used bold colors and shapes to convey the inner feelings of their subjects. Käthe Kollwitz used her art to protest against the plight of the poor around the time of World War I. The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch drew from his own tragic life to portray the world through the eyes of people in anguish. Little by little, artists turned away from representing their subject matter realistically.

          Eventually, some artists removed all figures and objects from their work to create nonobjective art. The first of these artists was the Russian Wassily Kandinsky, who tried to convey moods and feelings without the use of recognizable shapes and forms. Gabriele Münter continued to use simple objective forms but focused on intense colors and heavy outlines to express emotions.

          Another movement known as Cubism began when the artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque tried to show all sides of three-dimensional objects on a flat canvas. Cubists added materials such as newspaper clippings to their works in the technique known as collage. After experimenting with Cubism, Picasso returned to painting the human figure, creating his famous antiwar picture Guernica. Braque also returned to painting complete forms, focusing on textures that made his pictures “touchable.” Finally, in sculpture, Aristide Maillol used the elements and principles of art to convey feelings of peace.

Lesson 2
Contributions from Mexico and the United States

          Early twentieth-century art in Mexico was created in response to political and social turmoil. In the United States, art responded to the rapid changes in all aspects of life. The Mexican artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros used murals on the walls of public buildings to tell stories. They often represented aspects of the Mexican Revolution, which had freed peasants from corrupt landowners. Their work used bold colors and three-dimensional forms to convey strong social and political views. Each artist painted murals in the United States, encouraging American artists to turn to huge wall paintings for their own work. Another Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, created smaller works that expressed the physical anguish she felt.

          In the United States a group of artists known as the Ashcan School began to challenge the academic approach by painting the ordinary world around them. George Sloan used this style to paint happy city scenes, while George Bellows focused on the violent action of sports such as boxing. In 1913 a group of artists organized the Armory Show, which presented works by Americans as well as Europeans. The show exposed viewers to new types of art and led artists to initiate their own daring experiments. A new era began in art, where New York replaced Paris as the art capital of the world.

Lesson 3
European and American Architecture

          By the end of the nineteenth century, architects began to develop new styles using new industrial methods and materials. In France, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel created the Eiffel Tower out of exposed ironwork. Built quickly as a temporary monument for the Paris Industrial Exposition of 1889, the tower has become a popular landmark. Cast iron and steel were used increasingly to build all kinds of structures, and an outer shell of masonry was added to make them both strong and fire-resistant. The Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi tried to create an entirely new style of architecture using imaginative forms inspired by nature.

          In the United States, Julia Morgan designed in the popular eclectic style, drawing from various architectural styles of the past. She built and rebuilt Hearst Castle, catering to the whims of the flamboyant William Randolph Hearst. Louis Sullivan, on the other hand, explored new approaches to architecture. He used large frames of steel beams to create simple, soaring structures. These were the precursors of modern skyscrapers, in which steel frames are covered with glass or concrete.