Introduction
Individuals as Archetypes
Informed by so-called primitive cultures, Expressionist painters simplified the forms found in traditional portraiture. In doing so, they created works that straddle the line between traditional portraits and ethnographic studies of foreign cultural objects. As in portraiture, three works by Erich Heckel, Alexei von Jawlenksi, and Emil Nolde depict the faces and bodies of individuals. However, the features are intentionally obfuscated and mask-like. This makes it difficult to discern whether these paintings are meant to represent individuals known to the artists or whether they are meant to serve as archetypal images. The subjects' exaggerated colors, non-realistic proportions, and thick, muddled features point towards the subjects serving not as individuals but as prototypes or generic paradigms. These works demonstrate Expressionist synthesis of traditional and modernist techniques as well as a strong interest in non-Western cultures.
The artists produced each of the three selected works in the years prior to the outbreak of World War I, around 1912 and 1913. The works' aesthetic language reflect Western interest in the aesthetics of non-Western cultures, particularly of African and Oceanic peoples colonized by Western powers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The three artists' pre-war styles are characterized by painterly strokes and thick planes of color, showing a clear interest in “primitive” aesthetics especially in terms of analysis of facial features. The works are unified through the use of abstract color schemes and flattened, mask-like features.
“Primitive” refers to late 19th-early 20th century conceptions of peoples colonized by Western powers. The use of “primitive” removes all defining aspects of the referant culture and places it in opposition to the “civilized”, which tended to be Western cultures. “Primitive” peoples were thought of as being spontaneous, close to nature, and unrestricted in private and public actions. The word “primitive” functions as an anonymizing force for the cultures from which the Expressionists drew aesthetic language. Nolde, Heckel, and Jawlenski all drew from non-Western aesthetics but mostly in terms of appropriation or to serve as an escape from Western values, rather than true appreciation and understanding of these cultures.
Emil Nolde's Woman (in Strong Light), 1912, shows a figure posed for a portrait: face towards the viewer, shoulders turned at an angle, and seen only from the chest up. Nolde's use of vivid color highlights the sexual energy of the woman, whose breasts are bare and whose bright red lips are slightly parted. The dense dark background contrasts with the strong yellows delineating facial features and the reds and tans making up her body. The woman's hair, a mass of black paint, blends in subtly with the background. Nolde's thick strokes force him to work in a simple manner, reducing the woman's face to dashes and patches of color rather than carefully rendered minute details.
Alexei von Jawlensky's Prophet (Sibyl), 1913, communicates power and authority through a style characterized by childlike simplicity. Named for ancient Greek prophetic oracles, the face in the painting could pass for a study of a mask as it is abstracted to such an extent. Although simplified, the figure in Jawlenski's work is highly confrontational and stares out at the viewer with massive eyes. By forcing one to interact with the austere face in the painting, Jawlenski creates a tense relationship between subject and viewer. This atmosphere is heightened and augmented by the exaggerated features which draw from African and Oceanic masks. Jawlensky's work is neither an exercise in non-Western aesthetics nor is it merely an abstracted portrait, but rather it directly communicates a sense of timeless authority to the viewer.
Erich Heckel's Man in Brown, 1913, is a far more introverted and psychological portrait than the previous two works. Heckel works primarily in dark shades of brown, orange, and green to create a heavy, oppressive atmosphere in which his figure resides. The man is shown seated with his legs crossed, his eyes down-turned, and his abnormally large hands resting on his jeans. Heckel is unconcerned with realistic proportions but he does make careful efforts to highlight certain aspects of the man's face. The man's high cheekbones, sunken eyes, and large nose are remarkably individualized, however there is no indication that this is a portrait of an individual person. Heckel's portrait conveys a heavy, oppressive feeling through both color and posture without focusing on who exactly the individual depicted may be.
These works are representative of this period of Expressionism as they show more interest in expressing the subjectivity of the artist's vision rather than seeking to show individual features of a subject. The artists' interest in primitivism, shared Expressionist brushwork, and experimentation with the relationship between portraiture and figure studies connect these pieces. Rather than focusing on who the individual in the work is these three artists each chose to communicate a generalized, psychological feeling that does not rely upon knowing the details of the person depicted.