Foundations of twentieth century art

The origin of the avant-gards

In order to understand Twentieth Century Art today, it is necessary to consider two issues: the subject who develops it and the definition of art.

Regarding the creative works, we can consider the subject of that time in two aspects: firstly, because of the need for more accurate definitions, that is to say, an increasing faith in science and reason, and secondly, because it considers formal issues before its content.

As for art, we can provide the following definition: in its external aspect, it is the transformation of matter through the use of a technique in order to represent something, and in its internal aspect, it is the aspiration of presenting us with an idea.

When Maurice Denis established that a picture, before being a depiction of a scene, was a flat surface covered with colors, he was not referring to a definition of a work of art, but to the necessity of studying the work of art according to the principles of his contemporaries, namely based upon rational and ideological principles.

Abstract painting appeared during the same period as cubism and fauvism, but it caused more commotion than these other styles in which one could observe representation, and it was possible to see a certain continuity with the history of figurative painting. This is why expressionism and cubism seemed to have been historically justified. Abstract art did not make reference to any object from reality, and it was not possible to understand a type of art that did not consider the world surrounding us.

But in reality, these three new styles had nothing to do with the history of painting, which had just made a break in the evolution of art, in which the original interest of painting – that of representing reality surrounding us – was abandoned in order to study how that representation was produced through the work of art.

Abstract painting deals with the first of the aspects we included in the definition of a work of art: the matter, and particularly with one of its qualities, the color. Just as its name indicates, it is an abstraction of painting, which does not take into account the other aspects of art: object and technique. Abstract painting focuses on just one aspect, and as any science, it has to focus on one aspect in order to be analyzed without the influence of other qualities, which would alter it, thus making it difficult to identify the particular properties of the color.

We have mentioned that cubism, in some way, seemed to be part of tradition due to its slightly figurative content. But the foundation of this style is still a mystery, until now that we will discover that it deals with the second condition of a work of art: the technique of representation. Representation had been for many years the mere grouping of figures until perspective was discovered during the Renaissance. But at the beginning of the Twentieth Century representation was not a technical difficulty, it was possible to represent anything in any style. Now it was a scientific issue, because now the problem was not how to carry out the representation but to know the elements that make a representation possible: form, elements, and the relative positions of the bodies. Therefore cubism is the study of the techniques of representation.

We include fauvism as part of the expressionist movement because they are closely related (it is not other than the French interpretation of expressionism), and it is necessary to do so because this style, along with The Bridge and The Blue Rider constitute the ways to represent the overcoming of the drama of life through the application of social issues to problematic situations, thus showing us that society provides the answers we are looking for. As it is understood, we are faced with the analysis carried out by the artists from the beginning of the last century of the attitude put forth by the figure depicted in the work of art.

In addition to Hegel"s definition of work of art (idea, matter and figure), we have added the technique, and to the three material conditions needed for the existence of a work of art (matter, technique and representation), it corresponds them precisely three different studies that the artists unconsciously carried out methodically according to the needs of their time: science and society.

The study to achieve this conclusion was carried out by the artists by unconsciously applying the most evident philosophical principles, those principles of reason put forth by Schopenhauer in his work "On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason". From all of this, what is more evident and simple to understand is that nothing occurs without a cause, and thus we have come to realize the causes of the artistic trends that developed the first avant-gardes, demonstrating that they conform a whole, and explaining the need to develop all of these trends almost simultaneously, since they were analysing the creation of a work of art from a scientific perspective.

Scientism

In this article a case is made for the consideration of Twentieth Century art as a scientific analysis of the work of art.

The avant-gardes develop an analysis of the work of art in order to determine the essence of art. The variety of styles that the three main trends generate, are a consequence of the absolute necessity to determine the elements involved in the creation of a work of art. Because the avant-gardes were generated through a technical analysis, we consider that their origin corresponds to a scientific tendency of art.

Just as we understand that the orbits of the planets are determined by their own characteristics, and that, inversely, the character of our children is determined by the order of their birth, Twentieth Century art trends occupy a place and hold certain properties imposed by one law: that of applying philosophical principles to art, something that philosophy or criticism has not even imagined about.

In his book "On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason", Schopenhauer explains that nothing occurs without a cause. A cause is all that necessarily produces an effect. The knowledge we derive from a phenomenon occurs thanks to three abilities the human being possesses: sensibility, instinct and reason. Sensibility allows us to know a priori the qualities of an object: its position in space and time. Instinct allows us to know physical phenomena, what is identified through experience or perception of the senses. And reason allows us to draw conclusions by the use of judgment and concepts. Therefore, a person has at its disposal three different kinds of information to understand each phenomenon, which is known as the Principle of Sufficient Reason (P.S.R.) of being, becoming and knowing. The fourth root that Schopenhauer studies are motives, which only exist together with consciousness, and therefore are only possessed by humans. When we applied this theory to Twentieth Century art, we realize that it can explain it, and this is because scientific analysis has been widespread within the subject and therefore manifested in his actions.

The definition of art, which comprises idea, matter, figure and technique, corresponds with the forms of knowledge: geometry, transformation, knowledge and action.

The artistic styles developed at the beginning of the Twentieth Century were completely determined when art accepted the principle that "everything has to be understandable in order to be understood"1, once the artist applied the scientific principles to art. As we have already mentioned, the study focused on the visible aspects of the work of art, i.e., matter, form and technique, and on to which the P.S.R. of becoming, acting and knowing would be applied. At the same time, the application of the three principles of reason to the first of those qualities, matter, has a philosophical foundation, thus the P.S.R. of knowing would permit us to understand the object as a materialistic phenomenon which gave rise to Conceptual art. Through the P.S.R. of becoming we know the current state of matter, whose essence (or substance) is analyzed by Materialistic art. Finally, the P.S.R. of being, which studies space and time considerations, would deal with the transcendental aspects of matter giving rise to Abstract art.

Likewise, the artist of the Twentieth Century will apply these three principles to the second material aspect of the work of art: the technique of representation, whose objective is to assure that the work of art has a real connection to the reality it attempts to depict and that it is captured as faithfully as possible, so that it can be identified. In order to do this, the artist will first study in depth the position of the figure in space and time, secondly, the present configuration of the figure, and thirdly, the composition of the figure; all this according to the P.S.R. of being, becoming and knowing. We have solved the enigma that has preoccupied Twentieth Century intellectuals, the ultimate meaning of cubism: Trying to determine how the artist develops his representations is therefore the application of the principle of reason of knowing to the technical phase of the material construction of the work of art. According to the principle of reason, its forms of knowledge, i.e., the geometrical, analytic and synthetic, correspond to the study of each of the cases being developed.

Both the study of the matter and that of the technique of representation deal with the same issues: geometry or the position in space; changes in the matter or its current limits; and through the object which it is depicted or by the elements that conform it. Each study does it in its own convenient way but always concerning the same issues.

The third aspect studied by scientific art is the figure it represents. This would be the application of the P.S.R. of acting, of the motivation in its outer meaning, since what is perceptible of this type of motivation is expression, which is what is perceived and depicted. The act that carries out and that produces the image that is transmitted, that is to say what is known through empirical perception, is the consequence of motives. The result of applying theory to art is the expressionism, laden with social content. We can also identify, but because of different reasons, its three forms in the French fauvism, the Blue Rider and the Bridge; that would become the ultimate expressionism.

Therefore, the avant-gardes resulting from a scientific tendency, because they constitute a rational approach to art, have generated three different movements according to the constructive qualities contemplated in each work of art. When the artist has dealt with matter, he has done so unconsciously within a trend we could call "material" trend. When the technique of representation becomes the object of the analysis, then we are dealing with a "technicist" trend. And when we analyze the attitudes adopted by the depicted figures, then we are dealing with a "figurist" trend, in which an authentic representation seems to exist. Even though this trend, under closer examination, is also the theoretical study of such attitudes and not the representation of a scene.

1. Note: F. Nietzsche, "Socrates and Tragedy":

When the Greek tragedy begun declining, Euripides begun looking for a transformation in his work since his prior works were not being understood. Therefore he invented well defined characters but not as profound as those of Aeschylus and Sophocles. His heroes were depicted just as they were, but they were not more than this representation.

The Technicist Trend: Cubism

We intend to take a closer look at the definition of cubism by applying the philosophical principles that already have been used to interpret Twentieth Century art.

The technique of representation analyses the conditions of creation which make possible to identify the work of art within a given reality; hence what is analyzed is: the relative position of the objects, their spatial situation; the necessary interrelated brush strokes which delimit the forms depicted; and finally, the elements that comprise either the objects being considered or the proposed representation.

Because in Cubism the subject depicted had little value this study started by analyzing the forms, of which their volumes were simplified to their simplest expressions. Within geometric cubism the object is treated solely as a body, to which one must assign a place within the representation that has been done beforehand in a canvas that was originally a flat surface.

The flatness represented by cubism corresponds to an effect, resulting from the study of the pictorial work that was on a single plane. Painters using other styles also produce this flat representation precisely because they are analyzing a previous work of art. The cubes painted by Braque and Picasso at L"Estaque and Horta de Ebro, respectively, are not part of the analytic period in which they are often included, because this period studies another aspect, which we will see below

Analytic cubism studies the arrangement of forms. It is also not interested in the objects themselves, and this is demonstrated by the use of similar colors throughout the painting. For the purpose of the study, it is only interested in the lines delimiting the forms depicted but not in relation to the continual lines that conform the object, and in this study there is no distinction between the lines of each object and the lines of the other objects.

Synthetic cubism is precisely the opposite of the previous examples: it is interested in determining the kind of elements conforming the objects that will be considered. This is why in this case color is essential; it is the most evident way to highlight the identified elements. A guitar is depicted with several colors, each of which identifies not a form or a position, but one element of the object that needs a personalized treatment. Nonetheless, pure colors predominate because the object is not important as a representation but as a grouping of elements, and so there is no need for exact forms since even the forms lack importance in the study of the parts.

Later on, for instance, in "The Dance" (1925) or in "Musicians in Masks" (1921), synthetic cubism will deal with figures, or bodies, being depicted, thus continuing the premature path that had been started in 1915 with Harlequin, developing a comprehensive representation. Mostly during the 1920"s, it would undertake the practical task of using the new technique, that of creating representations of reality, once the theoretical study had been finished which would permit an absolute knowledge of the technique of representation.

Other authors will focus on the representation. But Picasso"s cubism is essentially a theoretical study, and now that the meaning of cubism is understood, it is possible to see that Picasso was more of a purist and more profound than the others because he was more sensitive in understanding what had to be done in each phase. But we cannot deny Braque"s own merits – that of outlining the way in which to study Synthetic cubism.

We see that in Cubism, a movement pertaining to a trend we call "technicist" due to the analysis of the technique of representation, there are also, coincidentally, three forms: the initial, the analytical and the synthetic; in which geometry, form and composition are studied.

The Material Tendency

I. Movements

Amongst the three physical aspects that conform the work of art, matter is the initial one. The application of the principles of reason to matter should be limited to three, since the fourth, motivation, is inapplicable. But the other three, the Principles of Sufficient Reason (P.S.R.) of being, becoming and knowing, are applied to matter as literally as Schopenhauer exposed it in his work about this issue. Thereby, the P.S.R. of being, that deals with geometry and mathematics, the concepts that arise before every phenomenon, or, if one prefers, about space and time, affects the perceptual aspect of the visual arts with respect to the first notions: geometry and space. With regard to time and mathematics, they will affect other art forms. There is an unquestionable link between light and sound, since both allow an almost immediate understanding of the world. But the relationship that has been attempted to establish between painting and music makes no rational sense. The color we perceive from the material work is that of matter, or, if preferred, of the constructive element or the depicted element. Therefore, it is not light. Furthermore, this would imply denying the other aspects of the work of art -technique and form. In case of being true, this definition could be applied to any work of visual art. Therefore the relationship between music and painting would not be limited to abstract painting, or exclusively to painting, but to any form of art that incorporates a visual art component, that it is to say, perceptible through observation; since the reference made to light and music could then be applied metaphorically to any perceptible element in the universe. This lack of exclusivity in the supposed relationship between music and painting should settle once and for all that interpretation of Abstract art. In any case, Abstract art would correspond to the bass in music; composition corresponds to harmony; and form corresponds to melody. Thus Abstract art would be placed in an inferior category than classical art, which justifiably was called Fine Arts.

Indeed, Abstract painting represents the application of the principle of reason of being to the first of the elements of the work of art, matter, which in turn would correspond to the P.S.R. of being of the work of art. We cannot forget that fortuity constitutes an infinite array and therefore there would also be an infinite array of explications. We must not try to find the value of Abstract art in a direct relation to intentionality, as established by light and sound, but with the sublime; in the perception of the immensity of the universe, whether of its vastness or its power, and of the dynamic or mathematical sublime, according to how we understand the work of art, as a representation of the universe or an immense space but limited, that in any case exceeds our understanding. In fact, Abstract painting has a lot in common with Romanticism, in which feelings are aroused by intuition and not by sensibility: mediate, through understanding; and non immediate, through feeling or direct knowledge of intentionality.

Material art represents the application of the P.S.R. of becoming to the work of art. It is simply about representing the state matter has reached in this place and time as a consequence of fortuity: about the forces of nature acting upon matter. And just as Schopenhauer explains to us about the changes of water produced by external circumstances when trying to explain "the idea"–showing it as liquid, snow, steam, still, evaporating or as rain. In this way the artist depicts the state of matter in a place and time.

Similarly, Conceptual art expresses its perception of the universe. It is, as you might have guessed the application of the P.S.R. of knowing to the work of art. And we say it is similar to Material art because it identifies the element in which matter manifests itself. For instance, water in a liquid state can be depicted as a river or lake; in a gas state, as a cloud; and in a solid state, as snowflakes or icicles.

These three movements of the material tendency correspond to three aspects of a same issue; knowledge through three aspects of the same phenomenon, the effect that has been produced by natural forces acting upon matter. This is to say: it is not about three different issues but three different aspects of the same issue that scientific research shows separately as a desperate attempt by human beings to understand the origin of things through the identification of the smallest of its components. Nonetheless, we will never get to know time, space, matter and the natural forces but through their manifestations. This is why, before the Twentieth Century, we used art in order to understand our existence.

II. Concerning the Material in Art

Kandinsky, as well as other artists before him, like Gauguin, tried to establish a connection between painting and music, probably with the intention of raising the status of painting to that of music in order to equal the sensibility that differentiates one art from the other. This squaring of the circle by the artistic community shows the feeling of inferiority felt by painters in relation to musicians. Since this pretension, as we will see, would mean squaring the circle.

Light is an element that reveals to us the existence of other objects and their positions (the separation existing amongst the objects). But light does not reveal itself, and this can be proven in space where even though there is light, it is not perceived until it finds an element and reveals us its existence, and with this information we become aware of the existence of light. The painting, which is a material object, reveals itself thanks to the light; therefore our awareness of the painting is a mediate one. On the other hand, sound is also an immaterial object that can reveal itself to us directly by its own accord. Music is the manipulation of sound in order to create art. Music is sound itself, and because it reveals itself, it becomes immediate awareness; therefore we have already been able to establish the first insurmountable difference between painting and music.

The awareness of the painting is made through a complete and simultaneous perception of the work of art. Sound is perceived through the successive vibrations produced in the air. The a priori concepts of awareness are space and time, which would be related to geometry and mathematics. Painting would be related to space, and music to time. Relating painting with music would be like establishing a link between space and time, or if preferred, transforming geometry into numerical successions. Kandinsky"s appreciations in his work "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" about form and color are valid but they are not as transcendental or profound as he pretends them to be and they do not produce the emotional effects he assures. His theory begins with the mistaken notion of pretending to sublimate Geometry into time, but if he could establish this connection, then one of the a priori concepts would not be as such and would be the result of the later, thus Kandinsky would not be doing philosophy but destroying Kant.

If in Kandinsky"s work what is represented depicts notes, then we should understand his paintings as scores. If these representations had a symbolic meaning, then his paintings would be hieroglyphics. In either case, we would not find ourselves in front of works of art. Kandinsky should have been born in an epoch such as the Renaissance in which he could have been able to fully express all his feelings. But no matter in which epoch a painter lives, he cannot work thinking on the relative value of his art with regard to others. If he thinks that other forms of art are superior, then he should change his profession because it would be impossible to give a new meaning to painting.

There is no relation between color and sound. The only relationship that exists between light and sound is as primal forms of belonging to the Principle of Sufficient Reason, that is, of being. The first spontaneous statements written by Nietzsche received harsh criticism by an unknown author. His writing reveals a bias towards the regime, unjustifiable personal disqualifications and opposition to Nietzsche"s cultural values. Karl Hillebrand"s analysis was more precise; he recognized the values defended by Nietzsche, he appreciated the aspects that had not been analyzed and remarked the inadequate tenor of some of his comments. Thanks to him, Nietzsche learned to appreciate Hegel"s philosophy, whom he criticized because of his sympathy for Schopenhauer. But it is difficult for someone to make a calm assessment since normal behavior is to make exasperated criticism.

 The Figurative Tendency: Expressionism 

I. Introduction

The figurative tendency cannot be explained through the three principles of reason as we did with the material and technicist tendencies. Once we have begun an analysis of Twentieth Century art as a scientific analysis of the previous work of art we said we would do so according to the three principles of reason, because motivation was the artist"s motivation to introduce an idea that was outside the analyzed work, and that in the twentieth century what was explained is the material origin of the work of art.

Within the scientific tendency, the figurative tendency cannot be explained solely as a flat representation of the human figures, the third material element of the work of art. This tendency analyses the depicted characters" attitudes, which corresponds to the motivation of the models, different from the artist"s motivation that we mentioned above, and each of which is represented exclusively in each of the movements generated by this tendency. The different characters" attitudes that can be presented are once again introduced by philosophy. According to this, human beings can react to three kinds of situations that arise from human evil, chance or fate, and from the subjects" relative position, which are the causes of the controversial situation. All of which can be derived from the analysis of tragedy.

  II. The Blue Rider"s Expressionism

In order to analyze the essence of this movement we will revise Karl Ruhrberg"s book, and in particular, his descriptions on Franz Marc"s work2: 

– He was also looking for the "universal painting", in which life dilemmas could be solved in a creative harmony.  

– Deep down Marc was a sad and melancholic man, an idealist with religious inspirations who suffered with imperfection, or the world"s impurity and the loss of metaphysical meaning.  

– He wished that the depicted ideas would be capable of stimulating the community.

  Yet we do not agree when he says: "it would be a mistake to consider these artists, who did not want to be reformers nor revolutionaries, as a group of rational intellectuals"3. In fact, their paintings show an idealized world in which dilemmas have been solved, but in contrast to The Bridge, the Blue Rider deals with problems related to chance, which cannot be faced directly, nonetheless they went to war looking for an idealized world that – and in accordance with all the expressionist groups—this was achieved either by accepting their proposals or else by them having to prevail by the use of force.

Kandinsky was a spiritual and idealist being who was born in an epoch antagonist to his being, and maybe it was this situation that revealed all his sensibility. His desire for a perfect world led him to the abstraction of the world and to depict these ideas in his works, and because of their highly spiritual nature they lost their figurative iconic meaning. Being aloof of the world led him to a sort of artistic asceticism. 

Even though, the origin of expressionism is based upon the study of the attitude, and in the case of the Blue Rider, in the hope to overcome the destiny"s obstacles which could be the object of a more technical analysis. August Macke"s work differs from that of the two other artists because of the importance given to the figures. This fact plus Kandinsky"s research of colour and form, and the simple presentations of Franz Marc"s –along with the idea that in groups they either tend to an absolute unity (as happened at the beginning of the Bridge) or to the greatest possible distances without escaping it—lead us to a certain extent to see a geometrical orientation in Franz Marc, a technicist orientation in Kandinsky, and a figurative one in August Macke.

  III. The Bridge"s Expressionism

Even Ruhrberg considers that Expressionism was a revolutionary movement: "The German Expressionism from the beginning of the century was a socially engaged art"4, and then he repeats that: "German Expressionism was political from its origins"5. In order to avoid confusion with respect to the theoretical analysis of Expressionism, we must distinguish between its meaning and the use given to it by the artists. The Expressionist movement analyses the figure"s role with respect to their situations. The study of situations facing other beings would have meant acknowledging humanity, but instead and as a consequence it offers the existence of ideological proposals that have been already applied or which must be applied.

 Kirchner"s work is different from most of the expressionists" because of its violence, not just because of the violence of its brushes but of the meaning of his work. The difference with the other painters is that they present us with an idealized world where problems have been overcome. This universal peace they advocated would be the result of the triumph of the proposals they presented to society in order to be accepted either in good or bad fate. Many of them ended up taking up arms as an attempt to demonstrate that their ideas were so valuable that it was worth fighting and dying for them if necessary. Some of them died, and the ones that survived were traumatized by experiences that must have made them realize the division existing between their ideals and reality, either because of the social results they evoked or by the ease of its implementation. But, in reality, the artist"s work is to create art.

The figurative orientation was present in all of them since they all shared, when they first met to form the group, their artistic experiences, and in order to show coherence between their thoughts and acts they established amongst themselves the universal brotherhood they ideologically advocated. Perhaps, considering the general quality of his work and the stylistic continuity he kept after the dissolution of the group, Kirchner was the one who contributed the most. Because of this he was convinced of the brotherhood"s value and this is how the dissolution of the group is understood. Since then until the war, Kirchner radicalized his position at least that of the artist, until another reality –that of war- also destroyed that strength that he had ideally conferred upon himself.

 When comparing Heckel"s and Muller"s delicate baths and the sweetness depicted by the characters with Kirchner"s threatening figures, there is more than just an aesthetic difference. We could ask ourselves to what extent these figures do not depict the artist"s own feelings and those figures depict a certain arrogance and strength which is nothing but Kirchner"s confidence in his creative drive, convinced that with or without the group, he could achieve as many results, and also the issue of whether or not his old mates could get along without his guidance. Through this artistic conviction he would have backed up his ideological position.

  The self-imposed artistic demand placed by Kirchner and the symbolic meaning of his compositions makes us perceive a certain technicist tint. In Schmidt-Rottluff"s work, because of his perspectives of buildings we could understand -to some extent, and to show stylistic differences within the group- a greater tendency towards geometry rather than towards the figure or the technique. Heckel"s and Muller"s work would become figurative.

 IV. Fauvism

Matisse aspired to an existence where all evil would not exist. "I dream of an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matters, an art that could be a calming influence, a mental tranquilizer…"6 He was more coherent in his stands, and did not advocate using force to convince humanity. "The joy of living" should have been the origin of humanity"s kindness. That kindness was reflected specially in his sculptures but also in his paintings, in the softness of his forms and colours, especially if we compare them with German works, since their origin lies in their capability for aggression.

Compared with his fellow countrymen, these differences were less evident, but it is still possible to observe in his best works the uniformity in composition and the use of flat colours. As an expressionist, he is delicate and independent of his personal quality. We could consider French fauvists as classical compared with German expressionists. They are more daring in relation to classical works; Germans, on the other hand, are more daring in their intentions. French fauvists" works are related to cultural references, Germans" to a political reference. Differences between France and Germany lie in a difference with respect to the intentionality of their actions. The former aims at transforming society through tradition and culture, and the latter through power.

  Therefore, fauvism is essentially figurative. Puntillism would add the technicist influence, and a materialistic and geometrical expression would only be appreciated through Rouault"s pictorial work and in his schematized faces, which imitate primitive art. The French cultural tradition prevents the expression to adopt extreme positions.

 Notes:

1.- This article is part of a series of essays where the avant-garde is analyzed.

2.- Karl Ruhrberg, Arte del siglo XX (Art of the Twentieth Century), Taschen Publishing House, Ingo F. Walther Edition, 2005, p. 108.

3.- Ibid. p. 102.

4.- Ibid. p. 54.

5.- Ibid. p. 54.

6.- Ibid. p. 37.

Translated by

Mónica Barros

Enviado por:

Mario Rodríguez Guerras