The NGV International recently launched the latest of its winter masterpieces exhibitions,
European Masters: Städel Museum, 19th–20th Century. There will be works from all over Europe presented, but I think it is interesting to see such a collection of leading German artists, a rare opportunity for Melbourne. Perhaps you’d like to brush up on some German masters before you see the exhibition.
Here are few suggestions for an introduction to 19th century German art. These books were published to accompany exhibitions drawn from major collections in Dresden, Berlin, Leipzig and Munich.
Views on Europe : Europe and German painting in the nineteenth century
Hatje Cantze, 2007
Spirit of an age : nineteenth-century paintings from the Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
National Gallery, London , 2001
Romantics, realists, revolutionaries : masterpieces of 19th-century German painting from the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig / edited by Edgar Peters Bowron
More good reasons to register as a library user!
MoMA 2003
The exhibition also boasts a wonderful selection of Expressionist works. These fierce, vibrant works capture the psychological impact of a world reeling from modern warfare, industrialisation and rapid social change. Max Beckmann exemplifies this tumult in his life and art. From serving as a medic in the first world war to achieving recognition as an artist and teacher in Frankfurt, then branded degenerate by the Nazis and living in exile in Amsterdam for years, and finally emigrating to America. He is famous for his self -portraits. Self-portrait in words: collected writings and statements, 1903-1950, offers fascinating insights into the experience and travails of this most individual artist. Max Beckmann is a beautifully illustrated survey of Beckmann’s work , published by MoMA to accompany a major exhibition shown at the the Pompidou, Tate Modern and MoMA in 2003.
