New Objectivity

The New Objectivity, or neue Sachlichkeit (new matter-of-factness), was an art movement which arose in Germany during the 1920s as an outgrowth of, and in opposition to, expressionism. The term is applied to works of pictorial art, literature, music, and architecture. The end of New Objectivity came at the end of the Weimar Republic as the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler seized power in 1933.

Related Topics:
Expressionism - Weimar Republic - National Socialists - Adolf Hitler

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The New Objectivity is similar to neoclassicism, and compared to expressionism, realism. Painters include George Grosz and Otto Dix, Christian Schad, and Max Beckmann. Composer Paul Hindemith may be considered both a New Objectivist and an expressionist, depending on the composition, throughout the 1920s.

Related Topics:
Neoclassicism - Realism - George Grosz - Otto Dix - Christian Schad - Max Beckmann - Paul Hindemith

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Gustav Hartlaub coined the term in 1923 in his article "Introduction to 'New Objectivity': German Painting since Expressionism," intended to prepare the audience of an exhibit of art in the new movement. In the article, Hartlaub explained, ?what we are displaying here is distinguished by the--in itself purely external--characteristics of the objectivity with which the artists express themselves." He identified two groups: the Verists, who "tear the objective form of the world of contemporary facts and projects current experience in its tempo and fevered temperature;" and the Magical Realists, who "search more for the object of timeless ability to embody the external laws of existence in the artistic sphere.?

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In architecture as in painting and literature, New Objectivity describes German work of the transitional years of the early 1920s in the Weimar culture. In particular, it describes the stripped-down, simplified building style of the Bauhaus, the urban planning and public housing projects of Bruno Taut and Ernst May like the Weissenhof settlement, and the industrialization of the household typified by the Frankfurt kitchen. An architect's job, they believed, was not to create a building that was beautiful for beauty's sake. Beauty would be inherent in a building designed to function efficiently.

Related Topics:
Architecture - Weimar culture - Bauhaus - Bruno Taut - Ernst May - Weissenhof settlement - Frankfurt kitchen

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