Rebecca SC French 602F2576 MA in German Studies - Rhodes ...

abandoning plot, thematic development and (conventionally) logical harmonic progressions in
favour of a subjective, mood-driven flow of harmony, inevitably fragmentary and quite
unpredictable. The Post-Impressionist/ early Expressionist painters embraced this individualism
by experimenting with both old and new techniques. (Butler 1994: 14) As an example,
Cézanne‟s Apples and Oranges (c.1899) is similarly subjective in its inconsistent and non-realist
perspective of the still-life composition: once one can move beyond noticing and being disturbed
by the dish of fruit seemingly about to slide off the exaggeratedly sloping table, it becomes
apparent that the overall image is in fact deeply and subjectively abstract. (Butler 1994: 12f.)
Increasingly, the Modernist aesthetic came to demand an understanding on the part of the
audience of the message or idea behind the work and the appreciation of art gradually became
synonymous with not only perceiving the image and appreciating its technical value but also
understanding the theory behind it. (Butler 1994: 20f.)
It must be mentioned here that although Modernism grew out of a desire to break with the past,
the major Modernists displayed a great respect for the accomplishments of conservative
traditionalism. Kramer (1973: 38f.) refers to the dual aspects of a “radicalism that cancels all
debts to the past in the pursuit of a new vision” and a respect for “the continuity of culture”. The
early paintings of Matisse and Kandinsky, for example, display a remarkably detailed
appreciation of earlier forms. (Butler 1994: 25) Over time, Matisse‟s influence on Kandinsky
became less recognisable as Kandinsky leaned further towards a Symbolist mode of thought,
placing greater emphasis on the metaphoric functions of colour and line; he was to become one
of the founding fathers of Expressionism and 20 th century Abstract Art. His view that “Art […]
has lost its ideal” (Eberle 1985: 3) expressed the dilemma of the modern artist: Nietzsche‟s
legacy of negation of all external appearances in favour of the „inner urge‟ of subjectivity meant
an artistic move away from external cares and a focus inwards; the artist now sought to replace
nature, the “fallible creator” (Eberle 1985: 3), with his own control over colour and form.
Kandinsky himself saw his art as that which would emerge from his (the artist‟s) elemental core
when the ground began to shift beneath his feet; he believed that support would be found in the
force of one's physical nature. (Eberle 1985: 3) The „deformed‟ human images in his (and other
Expressionist) paintings are deformed through emotion, transformed into primitive, joyous, wild
creatures of nature. (Eberle 1985: 3) This return to nature is characteristic of Expressionism – in
its idyllic depictions of nature scenes lies a protest against urban life; Eberle (1985: 7) sums up
the theme of Expressionism as “nature and instinctive humanity versus technology and
civilisation”. It was precisely this sense of technology as something essentially alien that led
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