Introduction
The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by revolutions and mass riots all over Europe. But World War I was an event that deeply astonished society and transformed the world outlook of millions of people all over the world. A great number of new trends in different branches of art appeared. Expressionism is one of them.
Hans-Siebert von Heister is one of the representatives of this style of painting. The work is dedicated to speculating about the medium and style of one of his works, the peculiarities of its location in the museum, the content of the picture is analyzed in terms of prevailing geometrical forms, color palette, the position of the figure presented and the resemblance to other works.
Hans-Siebert von Heister was a participant of the November Group, the German assembly of expressionist artists and architects, which was formed soon after the war. The most famous work of the author is Anger which was created and exhibited in 1920. The picture is performed by oil on the canvas.
The specific manifestation of the content
Although the work of art pertains to modern painting, it still represents classical expressionism. This style is based on the subjective perspective, which distorts reality in order to evoke an emotional effect of a viewer and transmit the author’s ideas in the most vivid way. Thus, nothing should distract the spectator from getting a pure emotional message from the canvas. Therefore, the picture is displayed against the monotone grey background in the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. This greatly reinforces the effect that the masterpiece evokes.
Seeing the painting for the first time, one can get terrified. The work of art represents the human-looking figure which sits turned full face to the spectator. But the shape of this figure is excessively tangled and sharp which goes into strong contrast with the smoothness and roundness of the human figure. This expresses the idea of aggressiveness of anger and an extrinsic character of this feeling for a human.
The palette of the picture is the most distinctive part of the time representation of this work of art. “The color must appear as the most remarkable feature of the painting. The picture seems monochromatic to the casual glance.” (Sampthon, 211) The predominant color is fiery-red which forms the background against the figure of Anger who is sitting in the foreground. Red symbolizes the deadly fire of the war which recently rolled down Europe. Besides, red is the color of blood and anger as well. Even from the psychological point of view, this color is the one that evokes the most emotionally expressive feelings like love, passion, and anger. Thus, the figure of Anger seems to come out from the blaze of war.
The Anger is mainly performed in white, orange and reddish colors. This may be explained in two ways. The author needed an appropriate palette for supporting the visual impression or manifested the idea that Anger is even much stronger and incandescent than the war. The anger is white-hot and it symbolizes that the last sparks of the fire of war will be extinguished soon, but the anger, generated by the human hate and aggressiveness, is hardened in this flame. Thus, it will take more time to get cold and die out completely.
Looking at the localization of the colors it is possible to notice some regularity. The palette starts from the cold blue in the right corner, changes to the hot red, orange and crimson in the middle, and finishes with black on the top. It explicitly expresses the atmosphere of that time when calm and sky-blue past was changed into the all-absorbing fire of war which left only the black ash of humankind’s future.
On closer examination, it is possible to notice that the hands and fingers of the figure are more distinct, detailed and vivid than other parts of the body. It helps the author skillfully create an image of the approaching figure towards the spectator. The Anger’s left hand and right leg seem closer than other parts of its body. It makes an impression that the figure is waiting for the chance to attack and seize the next victim.
Conclusion
If to take into consideration the other pieces of art relating to the same style and topic, it is possible to detect numerous points of contact in the way of reproducing the sense and manifesting the message of the work. The Scream by Edvard Munch, which was created much earlier before the canvas was discussed also supports “the idea of the mute scream of feared humankind in face of approaching tragedy” (Ware, 56). Besides, the palette of the picture is more compatible with that of Anger. The dominating colors are hot-orange and red, however, there is still more blue color on the canvas.
One more bright resemblance to the picture understudy is Fighting Forms by Franc Marc. The palette is brighter and more vivid, but the dominating colors are red and black. The brushwork is more daub and indistinct, but the name of the picture and the content which evokes strong emotions still prove that this work is created as the reaction to the first global tragedy of humanity.
Works Cited
Sampthon, Antony. The Anatomy of Expressionism. New York: Study Books, 1971.
Ware, Dorian. Expressionism and Modern Art. London: Limited, 1980.