The Wanderer | |
---|---|
Artist | George Grosz |
Year | 1943 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 76.2 cm× 101.6 cm(30.0 in× 40.0 in) |
Location | Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York |
The Wanderer is an oil painting on canvas created by the German artist George Grosz. The painting was completed in 1943 and is currently on display at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. [1]
In the painting, an individual is represented in the middle wearing a long trench coat, boots, and a cane. With the depiction of wrinkles in the coat and his left hand clutching it to his chest, the painting displays the illusion of wind blowing from behind. A sorrowful expression is shown on the individual's face by the casting shadow over it and the downturned gaze. The path he walks down glows with the colors yellow, orange, and pink showing elements of water and mud as it reflects the explosion echoing in the background. Ravens fly close to the ground with lowered heads demonstrating the act of searching over the golden field to the left.
The figure traversing the scene represents the artist Grosz, portrayed with a cane and white hair, indicating his age at the time of the painting. Born on July 26, 1893, Grosz was 50 years old when The Wanderer was created in 1943. The explosion situated to the right serves as a powerful symbol of the devastation in Europe during World War II. [2] The landscape, with its watery expanses and tall grass to the left, intricately mirrors the geographical features of Grosz's studio location in Cape Cod. [3] The inclusion of these elements not only connects the artist to the broader narrative of war but also grounds the composition in the personal context of his creative space, adding layers of depth and meaning to the artistic portrayal.
The Wanderer is categorized within a group of Grosz's artworks described as 'hell pictures.' These paintings incorporate recurring elements such as fire, death, and darkness portraying an apocalyptic landscape. Many drawings created in the 1930s anticipated the arrival of the 'hell pictures' with two among them foreseeing The Wanderer. [4]
The drawings are called Even Mud Has an End and No Let Up both of which were drawn by Grosz in 1936. [5] These two sketches were part of a portfolio collection of 64 drawings called Interregnum and published by the Black Sun Press in New York in response to Adolf Hitler's preparedness for war. [6]
In the drawing, Grosz walks down a path of mud wearing a trench coat and holding a walking stick. The purpose and positioning of his hands are the same as in The Wanderer encompassing his left hand holding the coat and his right grasping the stick. Both faces reflect sorrowful expressions emphasized by Grosz looking down and having the shadow covering his eyes and face. The artworks also depict Grosz walking through water shown by the drop-shaped texture on his boots. The tall grass is also present to the left symbolizing the same characteristics of his studio location in Cape Cod. Both groups of ravens from the artworks are positioned above the grass, engaged in the act of searching. However, what they are searching for is exclusively depicted in the 1936 drawing. To the left within the enveloping surroundings lies a lifeless body upon which the ravens are feasting.
In this drawing, there are differences including Grosz painted from behind, the left hand holding a candle lamp, and the depiction of rain with the sun or moon in the background. Nevertheless, some features in The Wanderer can still be seen including the cane held by Grosz's right hand, the path he walks on, the texture on his boots showing water, the long trench coat, and the tall grass to the right.
Grosz's life encompassed the trials of both World War I and World War II, alongside his struggle to grow as an artist within the confines of the German regime. In one of his autobiographies, translated by Nora Hodges, Grosz delves into the horrors of World War I and expresses what he felt about it as a growing artist. The filth, disease, mutilation, and brutality of the war had a large negative impact on Grosz. [7] The Wanderer was painted as a personal response to World War II and during a phase of Grosz's life when his perspective underwent a profound transformation, a shift that is distinctly evident in the composition.
Through these harsh experiences, Grosz used satirical caricatures to shed light on the corruption and violence around him. The Wanderer diverges from the art style of satirical cartoon drawings to embrace a more realistic and self-reflective approach. The shift is highlighted by two quotes depicted in the autobiography, A Little Yes and a Big No, and the book, George Grosz. [8] [9]
"My bitterness toward Germany was so great that I determined to leave everything behind me, to forget who and what I had been." [8]
In this line from the autobiography, Grosz states his emotions about the negative experiences he has had in Germany and at this point decides to leave his home country and life as a satirist. The book, George Grosz, features an essay written by Grosz that illuminates his changing perspective and complements it with various artworks spanning his entire life.
“In the drawings I offer you in this book, you will see the record of an artist's growth. In former days, when I essayed political and social satire, I often felt its limitations… In all humility, I offer you the evidence that I have outgrown the satirical phase of my artistic development." [9]
Grosz reflects on his growth out of satirical-styled art from his former years to something new. This transformative period is embedded in subsequent artworks, among them The Wanderer, with its style serving as a manifestation of this change. The notion of Grosz walking away was never hinted in any of his previous artworks which primarily sought to articulate his perspectives on corruption and violence through satirical caricatures. The uniqueness of The Wanderer lies in its departure from the cartoonish aesthetic, abstaining from direct attacks, and portraying Grosz walking away as opposed to engaging in confrontation.
The Wanderer was acquired originally by the Encyclopedia Britannica to become a part of its collection of contemporary American paintings. Subsequently, Senator William Benton purchased the painting from them in 1948, and it was later acquired once more by the Memorial Art Gallery, where it currently resides on display. [2]
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz and Max Beckmann, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.
Julius Mordecai Pincas, known as Pascin, Jules Pascin, also known as the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist of the School of Paris, known for his paintings and drawings. He later became an American citizen. His most frequent subject was women, depicted in casual poses, usually nude or partly dressed.
George Grosz was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity groups during the Weimar Republic. He emigrated to the United States in 1933, and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. Abandoning the style and subject matter of his earlier work, he exhibited regularly and taught for many years at the Art Students League of New York. In 1959 he returned to Berlin, where he died shortly afterwards.
The New Objectivity was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the Kunsthalle in Mannheim, who used it as the title of an art exhibition staged in 1925 to showcase artists who were working in a post-expressionist spirit. As these artists—who included Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad, Rudolf Schlichter and Jeanne Mammen—rejected the self-involvement and romantic longings of the expressionists, Weimar intellectuals in general made a call to arms for public collaboration, engagement, and rejection of romantic idealism.
Joachim Ringelnatz is the pen name of the German author and painter Hans Bötticher (7 August 1883, Wurzen, Saxony – 17 November 1934, Berlin). From 1894 to 1900 he lived with his family in the Gottschedstrasse 40 in Leipzig.
Paul Nash was a British surrealist painter and war artist, as well as a photographer, writer and designer of applied art. Nash was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century. He played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art.
Adolph Stephan Friedrich Jentsch was a German-born Namibian artist. He studied at the Dresden Staatsakademie für Bildende Künste for six years, and used a travel grant award to visit France, Italy, UK and the Netherlands. Jentsch moved to Namibia in 1938 to escape the approaching war and lived there until his death. He travelled extensively in Namibia and eventually settled down near Dordabis, about 60 km from the capital Windhoek. He is one of Namibia's most famous painters.
Karl Hubbuch was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman associated with the New Objectivity.
James Edward Buchanan Boswell was a New Zealand-born British painter, draughtsman and socialist.
The Memorial Art Gallery is a civic art museum in Rochester, New York. Founded in 1913, it is part of the University of Rochester and occupies the southern half of the University's former Prince Street campus. It is a focal point of fine arts activity in the region and hosts the biennial Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition and the annual Clothesline Festival.
Fit for Active Service is a drawing by 20th-century German artist George Grosz, created between 1916 and 1917. It is considered a seminal part of the post-World War I movement, Neue Sachlichkeit, or New Objectivity. The medium is pen, brush, and ink on paper.
The First World War, which was fought between 1914 and 1918, had an immediate impact on popular culture. In the over a hundred years since the war ended, the war has resulted in many artistic and cultural works from all sides and nations that participated in the war. This included artworks, books, poems, films, television, music, and more recently, video games. Many of these pieces were created by soldiers who took part in the war.
Adrian Keith Graham Hill was a British artist, writer, art therapist, educator and broadcaster. Hill served with the Honourable Artillery Company during World War I and was the first artist commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to record the conflict on the Western Front. He wrote many books about painting and drawing, and in the 1950s and early 1960s presented a BBC children's television programme called Sketch Club.
Robert P. Cenedella, Jr. is an American artist. He became well known for several of his paintings, including commissions by Bacardi, Heinz, Absolut Vodka and Le Cirque.
Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890 is an oil-on-canvas painting by French Neo-impressionist artist Paul Signac, created in 1890. The work depicts the French art critic Félix Fénéon standing in front of a swirling, kaleidoscope background. The painting's bold approach—utilizing color, pattern, and brushstroke to blend representation with abstraction—highlights a pivotal moment in Neo-Impressionism's history, influenced by the close bond between the artist and the critic. This piece is not just an iconic portrayal of Fénéon, but also acts as a visual declaration for Neo-Impressionism, grounded in nineteenth-century color theory, and signals the onset of modernism. It has been in Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1991, having been donated by Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller.
Lord Ribblesdale, sometimes known as The Ancestor, is a portrait in oils on canvas by John Singer Sargent of Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale, completed in 1902. The full-length portrait depicts Lord Ribblesdale in his hunting clothes. It measures 258.4 cm × 143.5 cm and has been held by the National Gallery in London since 1916.
Eclipse of the Sun is an oil-on-canvas painting by German artist George Grosz, painted in 1926. It is held at the Heckscher Museum of Art, in Huntington, New York, where it is the most famous painting.
The Poet Max Hermann-Neisse is an oil-on-canvas painting executed in 1927 by German artist George Grosz. It depicts his personal friend, the writer and cabaret critic Max Herrmann-Neisse. The portrait is exemplary of the New Objectivity artistic approach. It is held at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York.
Cain, or Hitler in Hell is an oil-on-canvas painting by German American artist George Grosz, painted in 1944. It is one of the most known paintings of the years when Grosz lived in the United States, from 1933 to 1959, after leaving Germany, shortly after the Nazis seized power. It was part of Grosz's heirs collection until being purchased in 2019 by the Deutsches Historisches Museum, in Berlin, where it has been exhibited since 2020.
The Love Sick is an oil on canvas painting by the German expressionist painter George Grosz, executed in 1916. The unsigned work is held at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, in Düsseldorf. It was bought from the New York gallery owner Richard L. Feigen, in 1979.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link)