ZEITGEIST: ART IN THE GERMANIC WORLD 1800-1900

Monica Arango @HW_Monica
Mar 19, 2015
2 min read

Between 1800 and 1900 the Germanic world underwent profound intellectual, social, economic, and political changes. The Industrial Revolution, the formal unification of Germany into a nation state, and the invention of psychoanalysis shaped modern life and its representation in art.

A Walk at Dusk, about 1830 - 35, Caspar David Friedrich, oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum

Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel professed that art was a fundamental mode of consciousness whereby humans could reach a profound understanding of themselves and the world. Art reflected the spirit of the age (“Zeitgeist” in German) in which it was created, and this influential notion held sway throughout the 19th century.

Drawing proved to be an essential expression of the period.

This two-gallery exhibition, which includes the works of Caspar David Friedrich, Philipp Otto Runge, and Gustav Klimt, brings together paintings, drawings, and prints from the Museum’s collection, the Getty Research Intitute, and distinguished local private collections.

Works in this exhibition are organized thematically.

Views of Italy: Many German artists were drawn to rome and the Italian peninsula, where the remains of classical antiquity and the picturesque scenery of the countryside inspired working from nature.

Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge: The transcendent domination of nature over human life, a defining theme of German Romantic art, received its greatest expression in the art of Caspar Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge.

Myths, History, and Daily Life: Art academies assumed prominence for the training of young artists, and emphasized traditional figural subjects from myths, history, and daily life.

Austria_Hungary: Vienna served as the cultural hub of Austria-Hungary, where artistic modernism flourished, led by the Viennese Secession movement and artists such as Gustav Klimt.

At the Getty Center from February 10 – May 17, 2015.