Expressionists at Tate Modern

Do you know who the Expressionists are?  I have to say that prior to this show I did only vaguely.  If I really thought about it I might have come up with Kandinsky but probably I would have been confused with the later American Abstract Expressionists.  That very good show at Tate Modern allowed me to fill this hole in my  knowledge and fill it with a series of wonderful paintings and incredible artists, many of whom I hadn't heard of before.

The Expressionists were primarily but not wholly focused around Munich in a group known as the Blue Rider.  Their star (and I think he is this) and one you will almost certainly have heard of before is Kandinsky.  In the later part of the exhibition his large, colourful swirling paintings dominate the show (above).  They are incredibly eye catching and I like them very much.  There is a reason he is as famous as he is.  What the show also does very well is chart his progress to this point, show the other artists in the group and the influence they had on him and their own development.

 One of these was the fantastically named Marianne Werefkin.  She produces these slightly soulful almost melancholy paintings, often with a strong narrative and this painting (above left) called Into the Night is one such example.  I like the 3 focal points, the departing figures, the person in the doorway surrounded by warm orange light, and the distant white building at the end of the blue passageway.  It made me think of Terry Pratchett's Discworld but then most things do.  There is a strong narrative here so as well as admiring the painting and the swirling brush strokes you get caught up wondering what is going on and constructing your own story.

I have paired this with a very different street scene,  an early Kandinsky in fact (above right). I love views like this and often paint (or try to) similar things.  In someways its quite dull, just a pathway down a wall but I like the blobbyness of the background and the strong white wall at the front.  You can see just how far his later paintings (at the top) are from this.  Unlike the Werefkin painting instead of viewing a scene you feel like you are in the scene which is something I like.

I am a big fan of humour in art and I found this painting (above) very funny. It is by my other main discovery from the show although in this case I had at least vaguely heard of her before,  Gabriele Munter. This painting is an almost caricature portrait of another member of the group called Jawlenskykl who looks like he is having a great time!

Then we go back to Werefkin.  It is fairly well known that many of the impressionists were obsessed by Japanese woodblock prints and I am willing to bet money that Werefkin was too as this definitely has Hokusai views of Mount Fuji vibes.  Although of course the colour schemes are much more vibrant and having the orange sit on top of the blue. Then the figure and the strange house (church) mess with the perspective.  It is a strong painting and I think my favourite from the whole show.  I kept coming back to it.

Another painter I had not heard of was Lyonel Feringer.  The painting pictured (above left) has the rather unlikely title of Gelmorda II. I heard someone commenting about how it reminded them of the recent Dune films and they are exactly right.  Small figures and vast vaulting spaces made more stark by the geometric lines and the austere cold colour scheme.

Also you know what I said about the development of Kandinsky well in my short samples I have taken you back in time to one of his early paintings (above right).  I like this in it's own right.  Blobby colour that takes you into the painting and industrial looking buildings at the back.  It is though very interesting to scan back up to the top of the post and see the change from this one to those.

Next we have two very different paintings of the same subject matter, in this case portraits of Werefkin.  The first one (top left) is a self portrait.  She does not look happy in it, her eyes glowing red very severe and surrounded by colour.  You could spend hours and pages drawing phycological conclusions on this one and I am sure that people have.

The one next to it is happier and more flattering and is by Munter. It glows and smiles at you and I love the golden background.  This was another of my favourite paintings and again one that kept on drawing me to it. It's almost a mountain landscape with a head on top.  The triangular shape leading you up to the face.  And the colours in the clothes, and the background are not just blocks,  they are complex and mottled.  I like it very much.

It is a very good show and I highly suggest you go and see it.  It is on until October 2024 at Tate Modern. I shall sign off with this fine picture by Werefkin (below) of people mourning a ship wreck.