Almost 200 people attended a lecture entitled “The Fate of Art in the Nazi Era” at the Arts Society of Bishop’s Stortford’s monthly meeting at South Mill Arts on Tuesday (June 11). Indie work experience duo Toby Kadritzke and Ezra Darley, Year 10 students at The Bishop’s Stortford High School, were among the audience...
Colin Pink delivered a fascinating lecture about the effect the Nazi party had on art in Germany and how dramatically the culture changed, writes Toby Kadritzke.
The first part of Pink’s talk compared the key differences between Weimar and Nazi views on art. The abstract style had become increasingly popular in the Weimar Republic, with artists like Otto Dix becoming famous.
However, during the rapid change from democracy to totalitarianism in the 1930s, the Nazis’ favoured realism style became far more prominent. Their ruthless leadership style meant anyone who opposed the more traditional style of art the Nazis loved was punished with violence.
Pink spoke about how some of the Nazi values were represented in the artwork, including pure Aryan family portraits and blut und boden (blood and soil) represented in vast landscape paintings.
Adolf Hitler was seen in paintings as heroic, strong and powerful. A famous one depicts him in a suit of armour, the artist aiming to represent his strength and might. Paintings of Hitler changed after the Second World War started; he was depicted more as a military leader rather than a figure of power.
Pink mentioned famous artists in Nazi Germany. Otto Dix had to completely change his abstract style of art, adopting more of a realism style.
Emil Nolde was a supporter of Hitler and his beliefs. He was convinced his artwork would be accepted by the Fuhrer as Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi party, liked his work. However, Hitler was appalled by Nolde’s art.
Sculptor and architect Arno Breker’s work was adored by Hitler. His art was exactly what Nazis intended art to be at the time, the complete inverse of so-called degenerate art, which was defined as works that “insult German feeling, or destroy or confuse natural form or simply reveal an absence of adequate manual and artistic skill”.
Pink spoke about the Degenerate Art exhibition installed by Adolf Ziegler in Munich in 1937 which featured over 650 works of art confiscated from German galleries and museums. The point of this exhibition was to criticise modern art and for Nazis to prove that their concept of traditional art was superior.
Pink’s lecture was very informative, captivating and gave us a fantastic insight into how art changed so much in the Nazi era.
‘It was truly enlightening and emotive as we learned of the difficulties faced by many artists in the Nazi era’
Colin Pink’s lecture gave the audience an insight into what it might have been like to be an artist previously revered but suddenly ousted from the art community due to a change in government and ideology, writes Ezra Darley.
He explained that the differences between Weimar and Nazi era art were enormous. The Weimar period encouraged modern art with movements such as Expressionism, whereas the Nazis emphasised realism, the power and superiority of the Aryan race and the glory of war.
They changed how art was viewed in that period, which shows just how overpowering the party was as it controlled all aspects of life and culture; for example, the Reich Chamber of Culture focused on the alignment of art to the Nazis’ values.
We learnt that Hitler had a seemingly deep hatred of modern art and wanted to prevent it from becoming an important or impactful art form. He ordered the destruction of thousands of paintings.
The Nazi-organised Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich in 1937 featured many pieces of modern art – however, not out of good intention. The works were crammed together, with derogatory comments explaining how they were expensive for no reason and should never have been sold.
It ran at the same time as the Great German Art Exhibition, also in Munich, which featured favoured Nazi art, highlighting the contrast between the two styles. This, from the Nazi point of view, should have increased the dislike for ‘degenerate art’ and increased support for ‘proper art’.
One of the most surprising and fascinating points that Pink made was the fact that no matter whether the artist was a supporter of the Nazis or their art was enjoyed by high-ranking party members, no modern art was safe.
Artist Emil Nolde impressed Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler’s closest and most devoted followers, and created expressionist art which he thought abided by Nazi ideals. However, Hitler was adamant that even a clear believer in his regime who painted in a modern style could not be allowed to continue, and so had his art removed from Goebbels’ residence.
It was a brilliant talk by Pink, incredibly intriguing, displaying the oppressive nature of the Nazi party and its views on art. It was truly enlightening and emotive as we learned of the difficulties faced by many artists in the Nazi era.
The Arts Society Bishop’s Stortford, founded in 1976, meets monthly at South Mill Arts on the second Tuesday of the month, with coffee from 10am and the lecture starting at 10.40am. The society also runs two special interest days, in January and August, and organises visits throughout the year. For more details, email info@tasbs.org.uk or see www.tasbs.org.uk.