New Objectivity MS

The present book examines one of the most important trends in German art of the 20th century. Between the years 1922 and 1930, Neue Sachlichkeit - the New Objectivity - exerted a decisive influence on the development of art, turning away from the main currents of avantgarde for the first time to explore new avenues. It thus articulated the cultural ideals of post-war Weimar Germany more closely than Expressionism or the Bauhaus. In focussing sharply on the society of the 1920s, Neue Sachlichkeit offered a visual barometer of the lifestyle of its day, a factor which contributed to its popularity. The cultural centre of the Weimar Republic was Berlin: it was there that the powerful forces of modernity - and the acute social and political problems of the day - were more acutely experienced. For the artists of Neue Sachlichkeit, concerned with the objective representation of the world around them, the fascinating metropolis offered inexhaustible material for their work. Berlin is therefore the first city discussed in this book, which continues with chapters on the regional centres of Dresden, Munich, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hannover. Separate chapters are also devoted to an in-depth analysis of iconography of the Neue Sachlichkeit world of objects and the correspondences between painting and photography. The present book attempts to shed fresh light, from a variety of angles, on the broad spectrum of realist trends in the art of the Twenties.