German Expressionism: Documents from the End of the Wilhelmine Empire to the Rise of National Socialism (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art)

I'm sorry, but as an artist, I want to see more examplesof the pictures, of the art, and there are a very great booksthat become bibles for some artists( I have a few, as I say...that are what artists makes a brush stroke and.... if they do it right.I love all the great artists and there are many, and i think webroke ourselves down into ism's. and we still do it today and still remembered b day.I love the manifestos, I love the deep talk about the German Expressionism's.I also enjoyed the crossing of groups. Maybe , if we grouped artists,by isms, this would be easier to keep track, anticipate trends and groups.,designers, artists. Wise words in such a screwed up world.these germanartists . The Riset of Socialism.it is a good read. Joe

A very interesting collection of historical documents make this book an instrument of analysis like no other. Personally, I found it much helpful in the studies of my own thesis on German Art in Early XX’s.

this book covers a wide variety of art movements in Germany during the 20th century. It includes journal and diary entries from major artists and art critics.My copy was in great condition and arrived on time for my class.

Very cool book. It's interesting to read what the actual artists from the time period had to say about their work and events going on.

Edited and annotated by Rose-Carol Washton LongAssistance by Ida Katherine RigbyUniversity of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California © 1993 Rose-Carol Washton Long constructed this anthology around a volume of essays in order to reveal a variety of voices associated with this artistic movement. Her work is meant to augment the scope of interpretations formed around the cultural conditions of Germany. She presents a kaleidoscope of textual data from many primary sources, some of them being translated in English for the first time, that paint a detailed picture of the society, politics, and artistic regimes. Long approaches the movement in an investigatory manner that uncovers an untapped resource full of direct information. She doesn't necessarily challenge the facts provided by other art historians from her field but provides another perspective in order to advance the understanding of an enigmatic movement. It is in this sense that Long has accessed German Expressionism through a route that has been ignored by other art historians. In each section, Long includes her own enlightened analysis and interpretation of why the chosen essays provide a provocative and appropriate example of the sentiment of these artists who were working at this time. By compiling her research with well known and also abstruse primary sources, Long gives her audience a unique and often neglected perspective that places German Expressionism in its complicated matrix of time. This text has not won any awards or prizes for its content or design; however I feel that is deserving of recognition for its valuable concept. Rose-Carol Washton Long is a professor of 19th and 20th century European Art history at the City University of New York City. Long received her PhD from Yale University in 1968. She has extensively studied European visual culture, specializing in Germany, Russia, and Central Europe. She is an evaluator for the NEH fellowship program for the Getty Grant program. Fellowships she's been awarded are Clawson Mills Fellowship from the Metropolitan Museum, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a Younger Humanist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a grant-in-aid from the American Council of Learned Societies. She also founded and was incumbent president of the CAA-affiliated Historians of German and Central European Art and Architecture (HGCEA), currently she is treasurer. Throughout her career she has written; German Expressionism: Documents from the End of the Wilhelmine Empire to the Rise of National Socialism, annotated edition, G.K. Hall & Co./Macmillan, 1993; paperback edition, University of California Press, 1995, Kandinsky: The Development of an Abstract Style, Clarendon Press, 1980, With John Bowlt. The Life of Vasily Kandinsky in Russian Art: A Study of "On the Spiritual in Art." Oriental Research Partners, 1980. This text is a wonderful supplement reading for art historians and students who wish to look at this movement through a distinctive lens. Those people who are not familiar with German Expressionism will most likely find this text difficult to approach due to its specific focus and agenda. The language of Long's text is fairly approachable; however a background in history is necessary in understanding the essays in context. These essays reference very specific events, a developed body of historical knowledge would be most beneficial in appreciating what the text has to offer. If a reader is looking to gain a general overview of the movement, this is not the book to read. This anthology's purpose is to be a guide into further more in depth exploration. This books strengths lie within Long's extensive research in compiling the resources used in the text. The basic documents that occupy the book's pages are being translated into English for the first time, were previously out of print, unpublished, not catalogued, and difficult to access due to their archival location. It is a valuable text that brings together documents that all attest to the German cultural condition from varied perspectives. Its weaknesses lie within the specificity of the material being intimidating to the general public. They may be discouraged to read this book because of its scholarly content. A glossary is excluded from the book however the index is extensively developed. Long provides very elaborate footnotes that reference her sources throughout the pages, a bibliography is omitted. The images are appropriately chosen and placed in the middle of the book. They are published in black and white which is acceptable for the graphic works used but hinder the impact of paintings and sculpture. Numbers and captions are included for identification and reference while reading the text. Long's book it's edited very well and no mistakes were found. As far as translations are concerned, they essays were easy to follow and comprehensible. The book is in excellent condition bound in paper. The paper used for the text meets the minimum requirements for the ANSI/NISO.

"This volume of documents is meant to supplement and enhance the recently broadened scope of interpretations by reinvolving the reader in many of the lively issues that circulated among the Expressionists during their thirty-year presence in the cultural life of Germany. ...The original editions and sources [of the excerpts] are clearly cited so the reader will be able to locate the primary text." (p. xx)This book includes translations of excerpts of the original German documents necessary to understand the issues that preoccupied the Expressionist artists, beginning with Carl Vinnen's "A Protest of German Artists" of 1911. Each section begins with an Introduction, by Long or one of the other contributors: Ida Katherine Rigby, Stephanie Barron, Rosemarie Haag Bletter, & Peter Chametzky. There are 50 b&w illus. at the center of the book. This would be a handy addition to the bookshelf of a scholar or student. In my opinion, it is not for the beginner.P.S. As of this writing, there is no picture or Click to Look Inside feature for the hardcover edition. However, the Table of Contents is identical to that of the 1995 paperback edition:  German Expressionism: Documents from the End of the Wilhelmine Empire to the Rise of National Socialism (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art) .

German Expressionism has been exhaustively covered in innumerable artbooks and publications, but it is much harder to find collected documents in translation. This anthology edited by Rose-Carol Washton Long, University of California Press, brings together an impressive selection of over 80 documents, many previously unpublished or hard to find, housed in German archives and museums, or private collections.The introduction explains the need for editing from the originals, with reduced excerpts where necessary. The contents are divided into four parts, each with its own introduction: Part 1 - Early Manifestations (1911 onwards, inc. Blue Rider and The Brucke); Part 2 - The Expansion of Expressionism, 1912-14 on, including articles and essays from Pan, Der Sturm Magazine etc; Part 3 - War, Revolution and Expressionism (Novembergruppe, writings by Felixmuller, Meidner etc; and Part 4 - Reactions to Expressionism, inc. Gropius' speech to his Bauhaus students, 1919, Grosz on his pictures, Dada writers, Hartlaub on Neue Sachlichkeit and excerpts from private letters and diaries of Käthe Kollwitz.I like this publication because it combines well-known texts alongside previously unpublished material, and shares important introductory insights at each stage. It has helped me to understand much more about the period, and on the German Expressionist psyche, which drove the artists and their supporters, admittedly through the medium of translation, but compelling nonetheless, particularly the dark and almost hallucinatory writing of Felixmuller. Some 40 illustrations in the centre, including the cover of the 1937 'Degenerate Art' Exhibition, woodcuts by Pechstein, Tappert (would like to have seen more).Essential reading for students of the period and all interested in twentieth century at in general, who will find many new discoveries, as I have.