Kiss
7:00 AM |
| Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Kiss, 1909 |
German Expressionism:
Hitler labeled it as degenerate art, but Hollywood adored it. Kirchner and his ilk
painted scenes that would define German cinema and later come to influence film
noir in the United States. Kirchner’s Kiss
practically looks like an artist’s rendition of a scene from Fritz Lang’s M or Curtiz’s Casablanca.
Do you remember reels of film? Or the clicking sound projectors
would make? For a moment, lose yourself. Lean back in your seat and relax. You can
hear the clicking now. Newspaper headlines soar onto the screen. They are
constantly changing, telling the story of a crowded town full of crime and loneliness.
Suddenly, paint drips onto the ever changing headlines. The outlines of
buildings, a man, and a woman appear. The couple leans towards each other. Then
the title of the movie appears in the sky: Kiss.
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| Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Mountains (Weinfluh and Schafgrind), 1921 |
Works such as Kirchner’s Kiss give off this old Hollywood vibe because they gave birth to
old Hollywood, but I love German Expressionism for reasons beyond this. German
Expressionism acts as the gap between Romanticism and film. Many German
Expressionists were inspired by the German landscape artists of the Romantic
period, which happens to be my favorite period of art (besides German Expressionism).
In fact, some of Kirchner’s own work looks to be inspired by such artists as Caspar David Friedrich, painter of Wanderer
above the Sea of Mist.
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| Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea of Mist, 1818 |
German Expressionism takes Romanticism’s focus on nature,
solitude, and the individual and updates them for modern times. These feelings
where then captured on film by Fritz Lang, who brought them to Hollywood as he
fled persecution by the Nazi party. The Romantics’ focus on the individual can
be seen in how cold the city looks. Kirchner paints with a blue that reflects
the coldness of the town. There are no other people in the portrait besides the
couple. So despite being around masses of people, the growing city lifestyle
actually swallows the couple. The canvas being covered in newspapers also
reinforces this motif. Here are actual images and stories of people living in
this town, but they are nothing more than ink on paper. Kirchner then paints the
woman yellow, making her this warming and comforting force for the man.
Kirchner only outlined the man, making him empty and waiting for the woman to
give him comfort and life again.
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