Collections & Critiques

Contemporary German art on exhibit in the Germanic Museum comprises one of the most startling and diverse collections that has been presented in Cambridge this year. The group as a whole will provide ample food for thought in a surprisingly forceful manner for anyone interested in deciphering the hieroglyphics of contemporary European trends in art. Obvious lack of feeling is the essential characteristic of most of the pictures. But in place of deep and reverberating content, harshness and vigor often bordering on sensationalism is found. Head of a Woman, by Nolde, a blatant example of art at its lowest point, is a brazen conglomeration of bright colors and an embodiment of a cynical and completely unsympathetic point of view. If all aesthetic standards, sensitive taste, and a feeling for harmony were suddenly swept from the world, Nolde's painting, even then, would have difficulty in maintaining its position as a work of art.

Other pieces in the exhibit, however, such as the pastel Child Eating Soup, are done in a subdued yet colorful manner with an unmistakable but not grating sense of strength and certainty. In this specific work, the figure of the child is rather grotesque and boldly realistic. It is valuable as art because it portrays solidity and bluntness in a fashion that is reasonable and interesting.

Present German art tendencies are strong and realistic. External aspects are emphasized in a way which does not allow for an after-reverberation in the mind of the audience of the theme which the artist is trying to present. The artist, in attempting to express himself in such a fashion that his idea will be made clear to the onlooker, throws his whole subjective self into his creation with the result that not a great deal is left to the imagination of the spectator. Most great artists have left a slight gap between themselves and those who are receiving their paintings, thereby allowing for the expansion of their themes in relation to the intelligence of the people who see the pictures. Less external flamboyance and more inward depth will make contemporary German art more representative of the race and less like the government.