Woyzeck - Wozzeck

If we're talking about the precursors of Expressionism in literature, we definitely should mention Buchner's 'Woyzeck'. This proto-Expressionist play can be defined in a single word: tragedy. The poor Woyzeck has nothing but his wife to keep him alive. He's despised and criticized the whole story (he's even the lab rat experiment of a doctor!), he has no money,  neither a great job, and his 'unblessed' doesn't provide him any happiness either. Woyzeck has the shittiest life in the world, but at least he had his beautiful wife Marie. So, when he finds out she's been rather unfaithful with him, his whole world turns down... inside his mind he gets crazy, insane and desperate until he finds a solution for his suffering. However, his resolution didn't gave him any peace, and thus he decides to commit suicide in a 'purifying' way. During the whole play, we just read the despair and misery of Woyzeck... there's nothing but emotions here.

The opera Wozzeck keeps quite loyal to the original play (although the ending isn't specifically the same). Berg's mise en scène is, in my opinion, really successful. The actors and sopranos that play each one of the characters effectively portrayed the figures and personalities that we can read in Buchner's 'Woyzeck'. Moreover, I think that the backgrounds used during all the scenes just fit perfectly with what we, the readers, can imagine while reading the original play. Hats off to both Buchner and Berg.

Werner Herzog a version of his own if this tragedy as a film, but I haven't been able to watch it. Hope I do it soon.

Der Blaue Reiter - Lyonel Feininger and Paul Klee

I love how Feininger can range from straight line compositions to black and soft water colour paintings, or even cartoon designs! Personally, I prefer his straight line near-abstraction paintings because even though they can resemble to some real-life things, we can never know the actual meaning of them!

Feininger's 'Harbor Mole'

However, I liked much more the work of Paul Klee. Each of his paintings seems to me a masterpiece. The choice of the figures and the colours used are marvellous; everything just fits in the place! Of course, my favourite must be 'Cat and Bird' (otherwise, my cats will abandon me).

Klee's 'Cat and Bird'

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody

I was listening to Queen's masterpiece 'Bohemian Rhapsody' while writing about Expressionism, and I just realized that this song is quite Expressionist itself! Both the lyrics and the melody transmit so many emotions that can depress and excite anyone at the same time! Certainly, Queen is not a contemporary of any of the real Expressionist, and I may be wrong, but I really think that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' -as well as 'I Want to Break Free'- is a great example of Expressionism in music.

Oskar Kokoschka

Kokoschka's paintings are not only grotesque and disturbing, somehow I found them really entertaining because you what to look at each inch of the piece to discover each element of the painting. At first glance, they may look as a messy compilation of nonsense figures, but if you look carefully into each of the paintings, you can find characters and objects that you didn't see before and give a whole new sense to the whole composition.

Kokoschka's 'Loreley'

For example, while seeing 'Loreley' at a first and quick glance, you see a worried person in the sea... not that amazing at all. But if you keep looking at the details of the painting you will discover some other men struggling in the water, a sinking boat, a sort of lighthouse, some fire... and an octopus carrying a trident! These elements, specially the last one change your whole view and definition of the painting and you can even start imagining a story for it!

Independent Expressionists: Lovis Corinth, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kathe Kollwitz and Ludwig Meidner

I think painting and drawing get really interesting when it comes to Expressionism. Expressionist painters usually don't have anything to do with one another if we're talking about the techniques, materials, and the subject-matters they use (although it seems they all like to make self-portraits). Moreover, sometimes even one single Expressionist artists' different works have no relation at all! (Unlike other painters that stick to the same style and technique their whole career -Monet, T.M.W. Turner, Morandi, etc.) However, the results are fantastic! Expressionists' works can be thrilling, alarming, disturbing, scary, depressing, dismal, blissful, or even carefree.

Corinth's portraits, for example, are somehow disturbing; he paints and draws himself as either a deformed and crazy-like person or as the death's pray.

Corinth's self-portrait

Corinth's self-portrait

Modersohn-Becker's protraits are much more happy and carefree. She seems to have a happy life, she's a satisfied smiling person!

Modersohn-Becker's portrait

Kollwitz's portrait, on the other hand, is quite much more severe and serious. She looks like an old woman that has pretty much figure out life. She looks like a tired, yet powerful woman. She sort of remind me to Cabaret's Fräulein Schneider/Kost when she's singing the unforgettable song 'So What?'. 

Kollwitz's drawings and sculptures are really impressive and REALLY disturbing; they perfectly fit the word 'sublime'

Kollwitz's protrait

(Sara Kestelman as Fräulein Schneider in the 1993 London Revival of Cabaret

-with Alan Cumming as the Emcee-) (One of my favourite revivals)

Meidner's paintings are really social and political, and thus they are kind of alarming, specially when we're seeing those wounded people on 'Revolution' or that city falling down in 'Burning city'.

Meidner''s 'Burning City'

Expressionist Architecture

Unfortunately, I have to say to I think I didn't understand Expressionist Architecture; it simply didn't speak to me. I saw all the buildings, glass works and designs and they don't seem to be expressing anything to me. In fact, Art Nouveau expresses and transmits emotions way more than any of these Expressionist designs. For instance, I think Gaudí's Sagrada Familia is is the most Expressionist and touching piece of architecture I've ever seen in real life or in photographs. Nevertheless, this doesn't means I didn't like any of the Expressionist buildings. These are the ones I enjoyed the most:

Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son'

Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son' is one my personal favourite paintings (I'm actually painting it myself.. I only have the legs left but exams haven't let me finish it). I think this painting's composition is perfect: the contrast between the light and the dark and pretty much 'dirty' colours provides an alarming and sort of dream-like atmosphere, and the red of the blood although represented with just a few strokes, catches your eye immediately and completes the scene in a subtle and sublime and. However, I think that the most special feature of this painting is the look of Saturn; those eyes can make you have nightmares, and I can say is it really thrilling to paint them!... I think it is really obvious why this painting is consider to be a visual precursor to Expressionism.