DOI Heft:
No. 225 (December 1911)
DOI Artikel:The lay figure: on impressionism and expressionism
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21155#0278
The Lay Figure
HE LAY FIGURE : ON IM-
PRESSIONISM AND EXPRES-
SIONISM.
"What a curious tendency there is just now
among artists to gather together into cliques and
to form themselves into small groups," said the Art
Critic. "There seems to be at the present time
no community of interests among them ; art is
subdivided into a number of factions all apparently
antagonistic one to the other— Why is this ? "
" Because I imagine there is a growing desire in
the art world for progress and development,"
replied the Young Painter. " Each group is
pledged to do something for the advancement of
art, and to rescue it from the state of somnolence
in which it has already lingered too long."
"That sounds all right," laughed the Critic;
" but it seems to me that these groups would do
much more to promote progress if they would agree
upon some common action which would be to the
advantage of art as a whole. Each one, as far as
I can see, is chiefly anxious to prove that all the
rest are wrong, and to assert the special superiority
of the creed it professes over every other existing
belief. That keeps things in a state of turmoil,
but it does not make them move."
"But there must be restlessness before any
movement can begin," broke in the Man with the
Red Tie. "This turmoil, which you seem to
resent, is a sign that the old conventions are
passing away and being replaced by better and
nobler ideas of artistic purpose."
" I hope it may be so," sighed the Critic ; " but
at present I see no sign of any clearing of the way.
It seems rather to be becoming more obstructed
by vague uncertainties and useless extravagances."
" No ! no ! " cried the Young Painter. " You
must admit that there have been evolved lately
some really important activities which make for
real advance. Look at the wonderful originality
of the impressionist movement, for example, and
at the significance of that even greater movement,
post-impressionism, which has arisen out of it."
"Well, let us discuss those two, by all means,"
returned the Critic, " they are characteristic enough.
Impressionism and expressionism, what have they
done for the advancement of art ? "
" They have introduced into the art world anew
sentiment and a new intention, an entirely novel
phase of effort and a fresh view of artistic responsi-
bility," asserted the Young Painter. " They have
acted as antidotes to the plague of sickly prettiness
which was destroying the vitality of the work "of
256
our modern artists, and they have stimulated
the intelligence of the workers helpfully and
hopefully."
" There you have it plainly put," laughed the
Man with the Red Tie. " What do you say ? "
"Have they done so?" asked the Critic.
"What has either of them brought us that we
had not before ? Impressionism, what is it ? The
record of an optical impression, of something seen
rapidly, superficially perhaps, and recorded hastily.
And what is expressionism ? The pictorial repre-
sentation, I take it, of the artist's mental intention
rather than of his visual impression. One deals
with the surface of things, the other with what is
below the surface. But both ways of approaching
nature have been practised ever since art began :
where is the advance ? "
" In the purer and more logical attitude which
the artist has adopted towards his work," replied
the Young Painter. " He has eliminated super-
fluities and his dominating purpose stands out
clearly and forcefully."
"He has eliminated superfluities, indeed,"
assented the Critic, " and in so doing he has
eliminated much that is essential in art. He has
taken up the position that beauty is a matter of
no account either in subject-matter or in method
of presentation, and that ugliness of matter and
manner is on the other hand rather commendable
than otherwise. What you call his dominating
purpose is to present ugly things in an ugly
way, to drag art down to the expression of
repulsive ideas, not to raise it to its greater
heights."
" Would you deny that there is any place for
ugliness in art ? " asked the Young Painter.
" Of course I would not," returned the Critic,
" but I do say that it can be treated in such a way
that it becomes beautiful. Look at the work of
the true expressionists—men like Charles Keene,
Daumier, or Phil May—is that wanting in beauty ?
Look at the work of those supreme impressionists,
the Japanese; is not that exquisite? Yet artists
like these carry out the highest principles of the
creed in which you profess to believe and eliminate
nothing that is helpful in the pursuit of beauty.
Let the emotion of the impressionist be stimulated
by the beautiful aspects of nature, let the intelli-
gence of the expressionist be stirred by the
significance, the subtlety, and the truth of the
character that he desires to depict—then you
will have progress in art, and progress that will be
irresistible. At present, I think, we are moving
backwards." The Lay Figure.
HE LAY FIGURE : ON IM-
PRESSIONISM AND EXPRES-
SIONISM.
"What a curious tendency there is just now
among artists to gather together into cliques and
to form themselves into small groups," said the Art
Critic. "There seems to be at the present time
no community of interests among them ; art is
subdivided into a number of factions all apparently
antagonistic one to the other— Why is this ? "
" Because I imagine there is a growing desire in
the art world for progress and development,"
replied the Young Painter. " Each group is
pledged to do something for the advancement of
art, and to rescue it from the state of somnolence
in which it has already lingered too long."
"That sounds all right," laughed the Critic;
" but it seems to me that these groups would do
much more to promote progress if they would agree
upon some common action which would be to the
advantage of art as a whole. Each one, as far as
I can see, is chiefly anxious to prove that all the
rest are wrong, and to assert the special superiority
of the creed it professes over every other existing
belief. That keeps things in a state of turmoil,
but it does not make them move."
"But there must be restlessness before any
movement can begin," broke in the Man with the
Red Tie. "This turmoil, which you seem to
resent, is a sign that the old conventions are
passing away and being replaced by better and
nobler ideas of artistic purpose."
" I hope it may be so," sighed the Critic ; " but
at present I see no sign of any clearing of the way.
It seems rather to be becoming more obstructed
by vague uncertainties and useless extravagances."
" No ! no ! " cried the Young Painter. " You
must admit that there have been evolved lately
some really important activities which make for
real advance. Look at the wonderful originality
of the impressionist movement, for example, and
at the significance of that even greater movement,
post-impressionism, which has arisen out of it."
"Well, let us discuss those two, by all means,"
returned the Critic, " they are characteristic enough.
Impressionism and expressionism, what have they
done for the advancement of art ? "
" They have introduced into the art world anew
sentiment and a new intention, an entirely novel
phase of effort and a fresh view of artistic responsi-
bility," asserted the Young Painter. " They have
acted as antidotes to the plague of sickly prettiness
which was destroying the vitality of the work "of
256
our modern artists, and they have stimulated
the intelligence of the workers helpfully and
hopefully."
" There you have it plainly put," laughed the
Man with the Red Tie. " What do you say ? "
"Have they done so?" asked the Critic.
"What has either of them brought us that we
had not before ? Impressionism, what is it ? The
record of an optical impression, of something seen
rapidly, superficially perhaps, and recorded hastily.
And what is expressionism ? The pictorial repre-
sentation, I take it, of the artist's mental intention
rather than of his visual impression. One deals
with the surface of things, the other with what is
below the surface. But both ways of approaching
nature have been practised ever since art began :
where is the advance ? "
" In the purer and more logical attitude which
the artist has adopted towards his work," replied
the Young Painter. " He has eliminated super-
fluities and his dominating purpose stands out
clearly and forcefully."
"He has eliminated superfluities, indeed,"
assented the Critic, " and in so doing he has
eliminated much that is essential in art. He has
taken up the position that beauty is a matter of
no account either in subject-matter or in method
of presentation, and that ugliness of matter and
manner is on the other hand rather commendable
than otherwise. What you call his dominating
purpose is to present ugly things in an ugly
way, to drag art down to the expression of
repulsive ideas, not to raise it to its greater
heights."
" Would you deny that there is any place for
ugliness in art ? " asked the Young Painter.
" Of course I would not," returned the Critic,
" but I do say that it can be treated in such a way
that it becomes beautiful. Look at the work of
the true expressionists—men like Charles Keene,
Daumier, or Phil May—is that wanting in beauty ?
Look at the work of those supreme impressionists,
the Japanese; is not that exquisite? Yet artists
like these carry out the highest principles of the
creed in which you profess to believe and eliminate
nothing that is helpful in the pursuit of beauty.
Let the emotion of the impressionist be stimulated
by the beautiful aspects of nature, let the intelli-
gence of the expressionist be stirred by the
significance, the subtlety, and the truth of the
character that he desires to depict—then you
will have progress in art, and progress that will be
irresistible. At present, I think, we are moving
backwards." The Lay Figure.