Another overcast day here in beautiful Hamburg, I'm beginning to feel like I'm back in Ireland obsessed with the weather again. The front desk associate at my hotel was telling me that they normally get only 70 days of sunshine a year here. Yes, 70, isn't that scary. So more than 9 months of dreary skies, I think I would go crazy.
I walked around the city a bit and had lunch near the hotel at the Afghan restaurant with wonderful veggie dishes, very healthy. And I love the St. Georg neighborhood it's got lots of great shops to peer in at while you walk about.
Elke, the friend I'm going to visit in Copenhagen tomorrow connected me with two of her friends who live here in Hamburg Samira and her boyfriend Ozzy, or at least I think that's his name. He's very sweet, a tattoo artist from Finland. They met a few years ago when she was up in Finland for a rock concert. That's actually how she and Elke met years ago as well at some concert I think in Sweden. Anyway, Samira met me at my hotel at 5:30pm and we went to a German pub/restaurant in the St. George neighborhood so very close to the hotel and it was delicious. I had an Austrian dish it turns out pork culet or wienerschnitzel and it was fantastic with warm potatoes and salad and Samira said that German pub food is very inexpensive which I think must be true because you get so much for only 6.90 euros. She is a new writer and very interesting, born and raised her in Hamburg but her mom is of Irish origins and her dad is from the Middle East but her parents met here in Germany when she was doing a play (she was an actress.)After dinner we took the subway two stops to another lovely neighborhood not far from the main shopping area and town hall where we met her boyfriend for drinks at a charming café/restaurant where I got a yummy mint tea made with fresh mint leaves.
We walked past the City Hall beautifully lit for the evening and up the main shopping streets past some canals and bridges and eventually back to my hotel where we said good night and off they went home to their apartment located in the Portuguese neighborhood near the piers and below St. Michael's church. It was so lovely to meet them and see a little of Hamburg through a local's eyes.
Day 5
Yes, as you may have guessed another overcast day. I did some computer work and then went off to
the Hamburger Kunsthalle, "one of the largest and most
important museums of art in Germany. Its superb permanent collection takes
visitors on a journey through seven centuries of art history, from the medieval
altars of Master Bertram through to the stars of the contemporary art scene
such as Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch. Among the highlights of the collection
are Dutch paintings of the 17th century, including works by Rembrandt and
Ruisdael, German painting of the Romantic period with extensive groups of works
by Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge, as well as important
paintings by Adolph Menzel and Max Liebermann. The outstanding collection of
classical modernist art features works by Max Beckmann, Edvard Munch and the
painters of the "Brücke" group. In addition to its permanent
collection, the Hamburger Kunsthalle has also won international acclaim for the
quality of its special exhibitions, which attract thousands of visitors to the
city every year. The Hamburger Kunsthalle consists of three striking buildings:
the brick building from 1869 with its ornamental facade, the neoclassical
extension building from 1919 made of light-coloured shell limestone, and the
white cube of the Galerie der Gegenwart designed by architect Oswald Mathias
Ungers and opened in 1997."
I spent a wonderful few hours slowly making my way through all three buildings and pretty much every gallery so it was quite a day walking through seven centuries of art from around the world in just a matter of hours. It's an impressive collection with few American artists but a good representation of European and one large room dedicated to Andy Warhol works of which they have over 20 large pieces including 6 from the Marylyn Monroe series and about 12 from the Campbell Soup series.
Here are a few works I found of interest as I made my made my from time period to genre. And that was the whole day, very relaxing and inspiring.
Fernand leger’s “Women with Cat” 1921. “One of the large female
nudes, of which Leger created many, Woman with a Cat was produced during
Leger’s “mechanical period.” Indicative of his love for mechanical and
technological advance, the woman in the painting seems to be made of a rubbery
substance, made up of the geometrical shapes of cones, cubes, and cylinders.
The simplicity of the figure, which has no facial features, is complimented by
the stark color palette, including only red, black, yellow and white. Leger
also produced variations of this figure, including a smaller, near identical
painting.”
Lyonel Feininger’s “vollersroda” 1936. Lyonel Feininger was
born to German-American violinist and composer Karl Feininger and American
singer Elizabeth Feininger. He was born and grew up in New York City,[2] but
traveled to Germany at the age of 16 in 1887 to study. Lyonel Feininger was a
German-American artist who became one of the best-known and admired contributors
to the cubist and expressionist schools of art in the early 20th century. Feininger was one of the founders of the
Bauhaus school of art and architecture, along with Walter Gropius. He taught at
the school in Weimar and later at Dessau, until it was closed by the Nazis in
1933. In 1888, he moved to Berlin and
studied at the Königliche Akademie Berlin under Ernst Hancke. He continued his
studies at art schools in Berlin with Karl Schlabitz, and in Paris with
sculptor Filippo Colarossi. He started as a caricaturist for several magazines
including Harper's Round Table, Harper's Young People, Humoristische Blätter,
Lustige Blätter, Das Narrenschiff, Berliner Tageblatt and Ulk.
Feininger’s cartoon career in America – “The Kin-Der-Kids
was intended to compete with the popular Katzenjammer Kids comic strip. The
story revolved around the adventures of the Kids, who traveled through the
world in a bathtub while avoiding their Auntie Jim-Jam and her castor oil. The
drawing style was novel and Feininger was one of the first cartoonists to put
speech in a bubble. The contract was canceled after nine months when Feininger refused
to relocate to America.”
Paul Klee’s “Rocky Coast” 1931. He’s one of my favorite
artists, I love his use of color, texture and abstract forms. “Paul Klee
(German pronunciation: [ˈkleː]; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was born in
Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss[a]
painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that
included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was also a student of
orientalism.[1] Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and
eventually mastered colour theory, and wrote extensively about it; his lectures
Writings on Form and Design Theory (Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre),
published in English as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are considered so important
for modern art that they are compared to the importance that Leonardo da
Vinci's A Treatise on Painting had for the Renaissance.[2][3][4] He and his
colleague, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the German
Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. His works reflect his dry
humour and his sometimes childlike perspective, his personal moods and beliefs,
and also his musicality.”
Philip Otto Runge’s “The Hulsenbeck Children”
1805/1806. I didn’t know this artists
work at all but I loved the expression loved the mischievous nature of the kids
with rosy cheeks and in their adorable clothes and the little baby in the wagon
just makes you smile, she’s so cute. There was another painting which I didn’t
photograph of a baby on his mother’s lap but not by this artist that was so
disturbing because of the way the artist painted bulging eyes on the baby and
strange abnormally large hands on the mother so when I got to this picture I
just couldn’t help but capture the photo in hopes of diminishing the distressing
memories of the first one. “Runge was
born as the 9th of 11 children of a family of shipbuilders in Wolgast, in
Western Pomerania, then under Swedish rule. As a sickly child he often missed
school and at an early age learned the art of scissor-cut silhouettes from his
mother, practised by him throughout his life.”
Bruce Nauman's "Marching Man" 1985 is a large neon sculpture of a moving man in with alternating bright colors as you see his arms, legs and other body parts move as well as see his tongue stick out. When I came up to the top floor of the contemporary art galleries there were a group of college students on small folding stools discussing the work with their teacher. It's an interesting work and the artist has done others similar, some on a much larger scale. "Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico."
After doing some research online I was able to find the picture of that mother and child that was so haunting and it's titled "Mother and Child" by Otto Dix "...who was a German artist, painter and print maker. His depictions of mechanized warfare and post-war Berlin continue to shape our impressions of the Great War and Weimar society. Along with George Grosz, Dix was one of the more important figures in New Objectivity. While Grosz delved into the shadows of modern society, Dix stared into the abyss." It makes sense now the portrayal of this mother and child and the sadness and hopelessness and having read about some of his other works as well and seen them online the devastation and aftermath of war depicted by a German is graphic, alarming and heartbreaking. He also had a tendency to exaggerate the worst features of many of his subjects so I am going to presume with this painting the women had large hands to begin with so he made them massive and possibly the child had large eyes and he made them even more pronounced. Now that I know more about his work and what inspired his work even when he was in a POW camp in France he was given painting materials and created several painting depicting life in the camp and the prisoners.
And interestingly, as I was trying to find the painting above online I came across a picture I recognized as having been on display as well, Paula Modersohn-Becker's "The Old Farmer" and thought perhaps she was the artist of the painting I was looking for. It turned out not and also her husband, Otto Modersohn, who I then looked up to see if perhaps he was the artist but in the end I simply found out information on the very interesting and sad life story of this talented women. I found a website describing her work and her life and how her death has helped people to understand the importance of trusting your own instincts against some conventional medical theories. From that site: "Wie schade" she said, and then she died. Thus on November 21, 1907, ended the brief life of Paula Modersohn-Becker at just thirty-one years of age. Widely considered to have been one of the most important independent Expressionist painters of the early twentieth century, Paula had given birth to her first child, Mathilde, on November 2, 1907. Her sudden death, due to massive pulmonary thromboembolism, occurred almost immediately after she was allowed to leave her bed for the first time following her delivery. Her biographers recount that she combed her hair, adorned it with red roses received as presents, and slowly walked to the living room, where her daughter was in her crib. Paula took Mathilde in her arms and said "Now it's almost as beautiful as Christmas", then suddenly fell to the floor. "What a pity" were her last words."
Here are a few works I found of interest as I made my made my from time period to genre. And that was the whole day, very relaxing and inspiring.
Johann Christian Reinhart’s (b. 1761 in Hof, d. 1847 in
Rome) “Landscape of Torre of Quinto” a scene from the Roman Campagna, Torre del
Quinto. “He was a leading figure in European art around 1800.The Hamburger
Kunsthalle is honouring Reinhart's outstanding contribution to the history of
German art with the first major museum retrospective dedicated to his work.
Encompassing not only his landscape drawings and paintings but also his highly
accomplished etchings and the scathing caricatures he regarded as a corrective
to his idealised classical compositions, this new survey offers profound
insight into Reinhart's entire oeuvre.”
Marc Chagall 'Die Seinebrücken' “Bridges on the Seine”, 1954
is a vibrant work with a beautiful angel carrying the babies and even a green
floating goat.
Max Ernst’s “Flowers of Fishbones” 1928. Max Ernst (2 April
1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet.
A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement
and Surrealism and for a short time (only about 2 years) was married to Peggy Guggenheim.
Pablo Picasso’s “Man with Guitar” 1918. I loved the colors
in this piece which are much more vibrant in person.
Fernand leger’s “Women with Cat” 1921. “One of the large female
nudes, of which Leger created many, Woman with a Cat was produced during
Leger’s “mechanical period.” Indicative of his love for mechanical and
technological advance, the woman in the painting seems to be made of a rubbery
substance, made up of the geometrical shapes of cones, cubes, and cylinders.
The simplicity of the figure, which has no facial features, is complimented by
the stark color palette, including only red, black, yellow and white. Leger
also produced variations of this figure, including a smaller, near identical
painting.”
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff’s “Lofthus” (1 December 1884 – 10
August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker, and a member of
Die Brücke.
Lyonel Feininger’s “vollersroda” 1936. Lyonel Feininger was
born to German-American violinist and composer Karl Feininger and American
singer Elizabeth Feininger. He was born and grew up in New York City,[2] but
traveled to Germany at the age of 16 in 1887 to study. Lyonel Feininger was a
German-American artist who became one of the best-known and admired contributors
to the cubist and expressionist schools of art in the early 20th century. Feininger was one of the founders of the
Bauhaus school of art and architecture, along with Walter Gropius. He taught at
the school in Weimar and later at Dessau, until it was closed by the Nazis in
1933. In 1888, he moved to Berlin and
studied at the Königliche Akademie Berlin under Ernst Hancke. He continued his
studies at art schools in Berlin with Karl Schlabitz, and in Paris with
sculptor Filippo Colarossi. He started as a caricaturist for several magazines
including Harper's Round Table, Harper's Young People, Humoristische Blätter,
Lustige Blätter, Das Narrenschiff, Berliner Tageblatt and Ulk.
Feininger’s cartoon career in America – “The Kin-Der-Kids
was intended to compete with the popular Katzenjammer Kids comic strip. The
story revolved around the adventures of the Kids, who traveled through the
world in a bathtub while avoiding their Auntie Jim-Jam and her castor oil. The
drawing style was novel and Feininger was one of the first cartoonists to put
speech in a bubble. The contract was canceled after nine months when Feininger refused
to relocate to America.”
Philip Otto Runge’s “The Hulsenbeck Children”
1805/1806. I didn’t know this artists
work at all but I loved the expression loved the mischievous nature of the kids
with rosy cheeks and in their adorable clothes and the little baby in the wagon
just makes you smile, she’s so cute. There was another painting which I didn’t
photograph of a baby on his mother’s lap but not by this artist that was so
disturbing because of the way the artist painted bulging eyes on the baby and
strange abnormally large hands on the mother so when I got to this picture I
just couldn’t help but capture the photo in hopes of diminishing the distressing
memories of the first one. “Runge was
born as the 9th of 11 children of a family of shipbuilders in Wolgast, in
Western Pomerania, then under Swedish rule. As a sickly child he often missed
school and at an early age learned the art of scissor-cut silhouettes from his
mother, practised by him throughout his life.” Bruce Nauman's "Marching Man" 1985 is a large neon sculpture of a moving man in with alternating bright colors as you see his arms, legs and other body parts move as well as see his tongue stick out. When I came up to the top floor of the contemporary art galleries there were a group of college students on small folding stools discussing the work with their teacher. It's an interesting work and the artist has done others similar, some on a much larger scale. "Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico."
After doing some research online I was able to find the picture of that mother and child that was so haunting and it's titled "Mother and Child" by Otto Dix "...who was a German artist, painter and print maker. His depictions of mechanized warfare and post-war Berlin continue to shape our impressions of the Great War and Weimar society. Along with George Grosz, Dix was one of the more important figures in New Objectivity. While Grosz delved into the shadows of modern society, Dix stared into the abyss." It makes sense now the portrayal of this mother and child and the sadness and hopelessness and having read about some of his other works as well and seen them online the devastation and aftermath of war depicted by a German is graphic, alarming and heartbreaking. He also had a tendency to exaggerate the worst features of many of his subjects so I am going to presume with this painting the women had large hands to begin with so he made them massive and possibly the child had large eyes and he made them even more pronounced. Now that I know more about his work and what inspired his work even when he was in a POW camp in France he was given painting materials and created several painting depicting life in the camp and the prisoners.
And interestingly, as I was trying to find the painting above online I came across a picture I recognized as having been on display as well, Paula Modersohn-Becker's "The Old Farmer" and thought perhaps she was the artist of the painting I was looking for. It turned out not and also her husband, Otto Modersohn, who I then looked up to see if perhaps he was the artist but in the end I simply found out information on the very interesting and sad life story of this talented women. I found a website describing her work and her life and how her death has helped people to understand the importance of trusting your own instincts against some conventional medical theories. From that site: "Wie schade" she said, and then she died. Thus on November 21, 1907, ended the brief life of Paula Modersohn-Becker at just thirty-one years of age. Widely considered to have been one of the most important independent Expressionist painters of the early twentieth century, Paula had given birth to her first child, Mathilde, on November 2, 1907. Her sudden death, due to massive pulmonary thromboembolism, occurred almost immediately after she was allowed to leave her bed for the first time following her delivery. Her biographers recount that she combed her hair, adorned it with red roses received as presents, and slowly walked to the living room, where her daughter was in her crib. Paula took Mathilde in her arms and said "Now it's almost as beautiful as Christmas", then suddenly fell to the floor. "What a pity" were her last words." 