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thesis entitled The Influence of Walt Whitman on the German Expres- sionist Artists Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel, Max Pechstein and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

presented by Dayna Lynn Sadow

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M.A. History of Art

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THE INFLUENCE OF WALT WHITMAN ON THE GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS KARL SCI-[MIDT-ROTTLUFF, ERICH HECKEL, MAX PECHSTEIN AND ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER

By Dayna Lynn Sadow

A THESIS

Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Art

1994 ABSTRACT

THE INFLUENCE OF WALT WHITMAN ON THE GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF, ERICH HECKEL, MAX PECHSTEIN AND ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER

By Dayna Lynn Sadow

This study examines the relationship between Walt Whitman and the Briicke artists

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel, Max Pechstein and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

Chapter I analyzes the philosophy of Whitman as reﬂected in his book Leaves of

Grass and explores the introduction of his work into Germany.

Chapter II investigates the doctrine of the Briicke artists. Through this research it has been possible to establish the inﬂuence of Whitman's writings on these painters, individually and as an artistic group.

Chapter III is an analysis of selected works by Schmidt-Rottluff, Heckel, Pechstein and Kirchner. Two paintings, chosen to represent each artist, are discussed in relation to the work of Whitman and provide substantial evidence for a shared philosophy between poet and painters. to my mother and father ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Phylis Floyd for her guidance and support, as well as my committee members Drs. Paul Deussen and Eldon VanLiere for their contributions during the preparation of this thesis.

Inga Griittner of the Zentralinstitut ﬁir Kunstgeschichte in Miinchen, Wiebke

Tomaschek of the Staatliche Graphische Sarnmlung, Miinchen and Bernhard von

Waldkirch of the Kunsthaus Ziirich provided documents which assisted me greatly during the course of my research. Special thanks go to Dr. E.W. Kornfeld of Galerie Kornfeld,

Bern, for his encouraging letters and photocopies from his book Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Dresden, Berlin, Davos, to vaarie Schmitt, assistant director of the Briicke Museum,

Berlin, for her hospitality and assistance and to Dr. Wolfram Gabler, for sharing with me his dissertation "Kirchner als Illustrator:, Freie Universitat Berlin, 1988. Finally, I would like to thank Hans Geissler, executor of the Erich Heckel estate, for his invitation to

Gaienhoffen, Germany. This provided me the opportunity to view unpublished documents belonging to Erich Heckel, for which I am very grateful.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

LIST OF FIGURES . iv

INTRODUCTION

I THE DEVELOPEMENT OF WHITMAN'S PHILOSOPHY AS REFLECTED IN LEAVES OF GRASS . .

II THE DOCTRINE OF THE BRUCKE ARTISTS IN ART AND LIFE . . 14

IH AN ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE PAINTINGS BY SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF, HECKEL, PECHSTEIN AND KIRCHNER . . . . 28

CONCLUSION 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY 57 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

FIGURE ONE - THREE NUDES, 1913 31 NATIONALGALERIE, BERLIN

FIGURE TWO - SUMMER, 1913 33 LANDESMUSEUM, HANOVER

FIGURE THREE - BATHERS, 1912 37 COLLECTION OF MR. & MRS. MORTON D. MAY, ST. LOUIS

FIGURE FOUR - DAY OF GLASS, 1913 39 COLLECTION OF M. KRUSS, BERLIN

FIGURE FIVE - DANCING BY THE LAKE, 1912 42

FIGURE SIX - BEACH AT NIDDEN, 1911 44 LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART, LOS ANGELES

FIGURE SEVEN - STRIDING INTO THE SEA, 1912 48 STAATSGALERIE, STUTTGART

FIGURE EIGHT - THE STREET, 1913 51 THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK INTRODUCTION

When research is undertaken to establish a source of inﬂuence on visual art it is done with some trepidation. The general concept of "inﬂuence" is itself often suspect and at times regarded as a crutch for a lack of originality or creativity.

Throughout the centuries, however, artists have turned to preceding movements and individuals as sources of inspiration. Such external inﬂuence should be considered a catalyst for creative development, thus enabling the individual or group to recognize its full artistic potential. This inﬂuence usually emanates from an artist of the same medium. For the Briicke artists inspiration was found in a work of literature by Walt Whitman, Leaves of

Grass.

This investigation, which employs a socio-historical methodology, examines the basis of Whitman's philosophy--the concept of the utopian ideal, universal brotherhood and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. These themes are then discussed in relation to the artists individually and cooperatively as a creative society.

The Briicke artists, through the expressive emotion of their painting, captured and mirrored the manifestation of Whitman's philosophy. The artists coalesced their own convictions with the poet's beliefs to create an art which is innovative and electrifying. To perceive their work as anything less is to commit a grave injustice. CHAPTER I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHITMAN 'S PHILOSOPHY

AS REFLECTED IN LEAVES OF GRASS

No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His signiﬁcance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists. You cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among the dead....what happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens simultaneously to all the works of art which preceded it.1

The Expressionist group Die Briicke formulated a common philosophy which served as the primary basis of their creative development. The artists' doctrine, modiﬁed to

ﬁt their individual as well as collective needs, was shaped by the philosophy and work of

Walt Whitman.

Whitman was born on Long Island in 1819 to a liberal Quaker family. The

Whitrnans were not deeply religious but were very devoted to Elias Hicks, a Quaker minister whose views on secular life and religion were parallel to those of the Whitman family.2 Hicks professed an intense faith in mankind and based his doctrine on the theory of Reason/Deism.3 This theory propagated a mystic view of God and considered Jesus a mystic himself; one who was capable of deepening the consciousness (Reason) to attain a

1TS. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent", The Sacred Wood, (London: Metheun, Ltd, 1920), 49- 50.

2Henry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 14.

3Ibid., 16. During the course of my research I have explored several sources on Whitman - Lawrence Bueli, Charles Rooney, Frank Shay and Carolyn Wells, among others. However, I ﬁnd Binns to be the deﬁnitive authority on the poet and have relied primarily on his writing.

2 3 state of deity (Deism). Hicks was of the opinion that it was possible for man to achieve this condition of God-consciousness and through its development acquire the ability to control his individual thoughts and actions. This philosophy held the inner spirit of man as the ultimate spiritual being and viewed the Bible as a secondary-albeit very important-- guide to a Christian lifestyle. Hicks believed the actual human spirit to be located within the heart of man and that the individual must rely on his own self-power to create an harmonious existence with nature and God. Interpretation of the Gospels was a challenge to man's knowledge of self and consciousness; applied accordingly to one's lifestyle, the doctrine of the Gospels-~referred to by Hicks as the Inner Light—was a transcendental unity which joined the individual with nature, God and the universe and brought these elements into harmony as one.4

The liberal religious philosophy of Hicks, coupled with his hostility to the evangelical dogma of the Quakers, led to his disownment by the Society in 1828. He retained, however, a loyal following-including the Whitman family--and in the same year lectured in the ballroom of Morrison's Hotel, Brooklyn Heights.5 This event was attended by the ten-year—old Whitman and his parents. The doctrine which Hicks espoused at his

ﬁnal gathering (he would die three months later), the belief that an immortal spirituality was immanent in all mankind, would form the basis of Whitman‘s philosophy}S

Whitman possessed a complete and utter faith in the inherent goodness of humanity. He was also fully aware of the evils which lurk within the nature of man but was not intimidated by the dangers of sin, instead he recognized the healing powers of love and understanding in correlation to the soul. Whitman believed that everything which exists, no matter how evil, possesses some virtue. The intrinsic power of the soul, above all, is capable of cleansing the evil and thereby enables the virtue to become the dominant

4119121., 17.

51bid., 15.

61bid., 15. 4 force within the being. The entity then adapts to its new, pure environment and serves a

speciﬁc purpose within the universe. The message of this mystical philosophy is clear".

live a life of faith, not fear and live according to the dictates of the soul.7 Whitman's awakening self-awareness could itself be considered a mystical experience, thus, the revelation of Self allowed him to develop a communion with the universe on an all- encompassing level; with nature as well as with men and women the world over.

Henceforth was born his desire to create an Utopia on earth. Whitman scholar Henry

Binns writes

Coincident with self-realization came the realization of the universe. He saw and felt that it was all of the same divine Stuff as the new-bom soul within him; that love ran through it purposefully from end to end; that thought could not fathom the suggestions which the least of things was capable of making to its brother the soul; that the very leaves of the grass were inspired with divine spirit as truly as the leaves of any Bible.8

This love of the individual and nature led to Whitman's realization of God, as well. Binns writes that

....he preached Yourself, as God purposed you and will help and have you to be.9

The universe, according to Whitman, was the embodiment of God. Mankind and nature are the soul of God the universe, united as a Whole. Man seeks not only identity as an individual part of the Whole but also among the separate elements which comprise the total entity. He craves fellowship and Whitman, through his concept of universal brotherhood, attempted to form a society to fulﬁll that desire. Binns suggests the following:

..... while worship was a purely personal matter for him, yet the need of

71bid., 157.

81bid., 72.

91bid., 77. 5 fellowship was so profound that he strove to create something that may not improperly be described as a Church, a world-wide fellowship of comrades, through whose devotion the salvation of the world should be accomplished.10

Whitman was convinced of the power of the individual but viewed collective

mankind as a more potent force. Such a consolidated strength could potentially forge a

new world, one in which man could live harmoniously with his own species as well as with nature. His extreme consciousness of humanity was in part the result of his

fascination with large cities, particularly New York. The pulsating city life was a great attraction to Whitman.ll The mass of humanity enthralled him in all its chaos and although he was familiar with the sinister as well as the glorious face of the metropolis he never wavered in his unfailing faith in man. Whitman enjoyed the society of the common people and formed an emotional bond with them, which is reﬂected in his poetry. Binns explains this passion of Whitman's in the following quote

Coarse, actual, living humanity was his supreme interest. And the delicacy and reﬁnement of the scholar was dreadful to him, because it separated him instantly from the vulgar and common folk.12

And commenting on Whitman's love of his fellow man Binns writes

For its own sake he loved it, body and soul, as a man should. It was not philanthropy, it was the wholesome, native love of a man for his own ﬂesh and blood, for the incarnation of the Other in the same substance of the Self.13

In 1848 Whitman began a trip to the southern United States which would take him as far as the Gulf of Mexico. During this journey it appears he acquired a new sense of self and country and began to collect ideas for a new volume of prose and poetry. In this work, Leaves of Grass, Whitman would celebrate the beauty of man, nature and the

10112121., 75.

“Ibid.. 64.

121bid., 11445. 13mm, 42. 6 universe. The ﬁrst edition, published in 1855, was declared a literary scandal by critics and scholars but would eventually achieve critical acclaim by the late nineteenth century.14

Whitman utilized Leaves of Grass as a means to disseminate his philosophy and in

"Messenger Leaves" encourages his audience to practice the concepts of love and brotherhood on a world-wide scale

My spirit to yours, dear brother, do not mind because many, sounding your name, do not understand you, I do not sound your name, but I understand you, (there are others also;) I specify you with joy, 0 my comrade, to salute you, and to salute those who are with you, before and since--and those to come also, That we all labor together, transmitting the same charge and succession; We few, equals, indifferent of lands, indifferent of times, We, enclosures of all continents, all castes--allowers of all theologies, Compassionaters, perceivers, rapport of men, We walk silent among disputes and assertions, but reject not the disputers, nor anything that is asserted ..... Till we saturate time and eras, that the men and women of races, ages to come, may prove brethren and lovers, as we are. 15

This poem is the embodiment of Leaves of Grass. That Whitman sought comraderie among the human race is evidenced by the ever-present term "comrade", which also played a vital role in the vocabulary of the Expressionists. The journey of 1848 made Whitman realize the vast expanse of the United States and deepened his awareness of nature as a healing power of the soul and body. The beauty of the human body rejoicing in the physical beauty of nature was a constant source of inspiration for the poet. This harmonization of man and nature was the crucial component of the universe and the foundation of the Utopia which he so devoutly pursued, in his life as well as his work.

Whitman maintained an almost mystical relationship with nature, rejuvenating himself

141bid., 107.

15Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 298. 7 with excursions to the country in order that he might continue his administration to the human souls of his comrades so desperately in need of spiritual assistance.

The more horriﬁc, opressive aspects of life were also represented in leaves of

Grass. The themes of war, death and the general ills of society were very important to

Whitman. He felt if he could address these topics in his poetry man would be more adept in dealing with such situations as they manifested themselves on a daily basis. As was stated previously, Whitman believed in the inherent goodness of all beings and through these themes of malaise attempted to uncover this trait and ultimately expose the basic benevolence of the soul. The Civil War ironically proved to be a creative catalyst as well as a devastating experience for Whitman, one which would so damage his health he would never fully recover.16 In 1862 Whitman went to Washington DC. to serve as nurse to the wounded soldiers of the North and South. It was during this time that his concept of comradeship achieved full maturity and inﬂuenced later editions of Leaves of Grass, especially his series "Drumtaps" and "Memories of President Lincoln. 17 Whitman's best defense against the hardships of war was his writing and he used this, as well as his childhood Quaker belief of paciﬁsm, as his most lethal weapon. With the end of the war

Whitman returned to his mother's home in Camden and continued to revise leaves of

Grass in preparation of expanded editions. The evolution of his philosophy also reached its apex here, aided no doubt by the tranquil countryside as well as the proximity to New

York City. In this setting Whitman could satisfy his desire for the serene as easily as his eqicurean delight of the chaotic.18 It was also in Camden that Whitman began to contemplate a translation of Leaves of Grass.

16Henry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 202. ”Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 316-69. Both series were eventually incorporated into subsequent editions of Leaves of Grass. "Memories of President Lincoln" was received with much enthusiasm, especially the later poem "0 Captain, my Captaini". l8Henry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 266. 8 At this juncture I would like to examine the introduction of Whitman into Germany

and thereby establish the availability of his work to the Briicke artists at the beginning of

the twentieth century.

Leaves of Grass was accepted in Europe as a distinguished work of literature long

before America overcame its puritan ideals to take the volume as seriously as the author

intended. Whitman had long anticipated a translation of Leaves of Grass to further

promote his work on the European continent. This opportunity manifested itself in the

form of a friendship with Thomas William (T.W.) Rolleston. Rolleston was a student of

literature at Trinity College, Dublin, when he began a correspondence with the poet. 19

There is some debate as to when this correspondence originated; Binns proposes 1880 as a possible date while Horst Frenz suggests the year 1879.20 There is little doubt, however,

of the inﬂuence Whitman wielded over the young student, enough to ﬁre the young man's

desire to introduce Leaves of Grass into every corner of Europe. Leaving Dublin, Rolleston settled in Dresden with his wife and divided his residence between various

cottages in the outlying villages and the city proper. He held the German people in very

high esteem-as Whitman did--and both expressed mutual interest in the writings of such

German philosophers as Hegel, Goethe, Leibnitz and Herder.21 Rolleston and Whitman

also shared very similar views on universal brotherhood and the utopian ideal. In a letter to

Whitman dated June 4, 1881, Rolleston wrote

These Germans I admire more and moreuif they keep their present characteristics what a nation they will be sometime! Their life is simple, friendly, humane, unembanassed; the poor have leisure and use it well, the rich do not strive, (as

19Walt Whitman, Whitman and Rolleston: a Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz, (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1951), 7.

20(i) Henry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 272. (ii) Walt Whitman, Whitman and Rolleston: a Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz, (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1951), 8. 2Irrenry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 62. Although these authors strongly affected Whitman, Herder's philosophy fascinated the poet in its similarities to his own convictions. This may also partially explain Whitman's interest and appreciation of Goethe, as Herder served as the author's friend and mentor. 9 periodically in England) to ‘do their duty to the lower classes’ ..... they meet their labourers, servants, etc. in a perfectly natural manner, as man with man and other bonds are established than those which unite the payer and the payee. As a nation, high and low, they have intelligence, and what is more, spirituality--life is not measured by its value in £. s.d.22

In September, 1881, Rolleston purchased a book by Dr. Rudolf Doehn, a German literary critic and authority on English and American poetry. The work, Aus dem

Amerikanischen Dichterwald, traced the progression of American literature and analyzed its effect on stylistic methodology in relation to the literature of western civilization. Dr.

Doehn included an essay on Whitman in his book but failed to provide any examples of the poet's work in translation, which seveme agitated Rolleston.23 Thus, in a letter dated

September 17, 1881, Rolleston ﬁrst mentioned to Whitman his proposal to translate

Leaves of Grass

A project I contemplate and would carry out as soon as I could ﬁnd a proper German collaborateur, is a full German translation of the Leaves of Grass and Passage to India. I fancy it would be most successful here, and be largely understood.24

With this correspondence Rolleston began his undertaking in earnst. We may establish the year in which he began his translation as 1881, according to Frenz, but the inevitable difﬁculties arose which prolonged its publication almost a decade. An exhausting obstacle to overcome was the poet's insistence on a bi-lingual edition. Rolleston was loathe to produce the volume in such an imposing format and on November 28, 1881, wrote to

Whitman in regard to the issue

Are you sure about the double text of English and

22Walt Whitman, Whitman and Rolleston: a Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1951), 31. 231bia., 39.

24Ibid., 41. The translation of Passage to India received very little attention from Rolleston. Fragments of the work may be found in the German Language but has never been published in completed form. 10 German? It seems to me as if it would give the book a formidably scientiﬁc appearance. Did anyone ever get much comfort out of one of those polygot bibles with the Greek, Hebrew, Latin, English, etc., all arranged in parallel columns? And would people buy largely a book of poems of which half was in an unknown tongue? I see the advantages of the p1an--but, at present at least, it appears to me that the disadvantages preponderate, especially as your works could be rendered, I think, with full accuracy in Gerrnan--really reproducing both form and matter.--I believe the work would strike root deeply in Germany and might be of vast importance.25

Whitman ﬁnally agreed to an edition entirely in German and the translation progressed. In a letter to the poet from February 14, 1882, Rolleston wrote

I enclose herewith a page of my translation of the Leaves of Grass--you needn't save it as I don't want it again. I am studying Luther's translation of the Bible a good deal with reference to this translation. It is grand strong idiomatic German, not the rnilk-and-water, romantified stuff they put into books nowadays. Germany at present is suffering under an unprecedented plague of mediocrity--in all branches of imaginative art. Dry bones everywhere-- everything scientific, psychological, faultless, barren-and they are delighted with it all, and finally believe themselves to be leading an active spiritual existence. Wagner is the only man that is really alive among them It is difficult to understand how they can admire him as they do and then sit down with such perfect complacency to their anatomical philosophy and pedagogic novels and the studies of historical costume which they call paintings.26

One is tempted to attribute this passionate oration to an artist of the Briicke group but it would be twenty-three years before they arrived on the Dresdener art scene.

Rolleston's recognition of the dolorous state of German society can only verify the future disillusionment and contempt of the Expressionists for an existence they found stiﬂing, at best. I will comment further upon this in the next chapter.

251bid., 46. The last statement in this quote presupposes the impact of Leaves of Grass on the development of the Briicke artists.

261bid., 57. 1 1 As Rolleston worked on Leaves of Grass the necessity of a collaborator for publication of the volume grew. He began the preparation of articles on Leaves of Grass to be published in various literary journals and wrote to Whitman on June 10, 1882

I am, sometime soon, to read something on the Leaves of Grass before a German audience, a 'Literary Club', in Dresden. This will perhaps lead to my ﬁnding a collaborateur for the translation{ .. }...27

"Sometime soon" was in reath over a year later, when Rolleston and Henry Bernard

(H.B.) Cotterill presented a lecture before the Literary Club of Dresden on September 25, 1883.28 The lecture was titled "Uber Wordsworth und Walt Whitman: zwei Vortrage vor dem Literarischen Verein zu Dresden" and served as an introduction to the lives and work of the two poets. Cotterill, a friend of Rolleston's from Trinity College, had moved to

South Africa after receiving his degree in education but returned to the European continent and settled in Germany.29 As an expert on Wordsworth, he was approached by Rolleston and persuaded to participate in an endeavor which Rolleston felt could only expedite his work on Leaves of Grass.

The lecture was presented as two separate readings; Rolleston was responsible for the second reading on Whitman. After a preliminary introduction of the poet's ancestral background Rolleston proceeded to discuss Leaves of Grass as the most exigent book of its genre

..... und gab 1856 einen kleinen Band von Gedichten heraus, die, mtichten sie ﬁir Verrﬁcktheit oder Genie gelten, gewiss etwas anderes waren, als die Welt bis jetzt gesehen. Dieses Bandchen ist der Kern geworden, die jetzt unter dem

27Ibid., 61.

28BB. Cotterill, Uber Wordsworth and Whitman: zwei Vortra'ge gehalten vor dem Literarischen Verein zu Dresden, (Dresden: C. Tittrnann, 1883), 1.

29Walt Whitman, Whitman and Rolleston: a Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz, (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1951), 32. l 2 Titel Grashalme einen ansehnlichen Band ausmachen.3O

Rolleston intended, as Frenz implies, to introduce not only the work of Whitman to the

Germans but also to proffer an extensive voyage into the psyche of Whitman the man. He discoursed quite broadly on the philosophy of the poet and summarized the essence of his aesthetic as follows

Nun ist das Velanstalten eines solchen Verhaltnis zwischen der menschlichen Seele und der ganzen inneren und ausseren Welt ein Hauptzug von Whitrnans Wirkung auf seine Leser ..... 31 and later...

Er sucht nicht einen frommen Menschen, noch einen selbst- beherrschenden Menschen, auch nicht wie Goethe einen thatigen, nﬁtzlichen Menschen zu bilden, sondem einen vollkommenen Menschen, d.h. einen, der fa’hig ist, dutch die Ausiibung von jedem Theil seiner Natur das zu ﬁnden, was ihn gliicklich macht und weiter bringt.32

The lecture was quite a success for Rolleston and Cotterill, for in early spring, 1884, Rolleston made the acquaintance (per letter) of Karl Knortz, a German and ﬁiend of

Whitman. Knortz was a scholar of literature and at that time resided in the vicinity of Camden. Upon reading Rolleston's translation of "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" he readily agreed to collaborate on the German volume in progress.33 Now the issue of

30KB. Cotterill, Uber Wordswporth and Whitman: zwei Vortrdge gehalten vor dem Literarischen Verein zu Dresden, (Dresden: C. Tittmann, 1883), 40. The translations in this thesis are my own, except where noted. I regret any awkward sentence structure which may appear. " ..... and published in 1856 a small volume of poems, which whether regarded at the time as lunacy or genius were certainly something different from what the world had yet seen. This volume became the kernel to which have since accrued by degrees other poems and now appears under the title Leaves of Grass." Rolleston errs in reference to the date of the ﬁrst edition. Binns, Rooney, Shay and Bucll corroborate 1855 as the year of initial publication.

31Ibid., 53. "The contrivance of such a relationship between the human soul and the whole inner and outer world forms the principle freature of this poet's effect upon his readers."

321bid., 59. "He tries not to cultivate a merely religious or intellectually self-controlled man, or like Goethe, an active, especially artistic one, but a complete man, that is, a man, able to ﬁnd in the exercise of each and every function of nature, what will make him happy and advance his morality and emotionality."

33Walt Whitman, Whitman and Rolleston: a Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz, (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1951), 87. 13 title for the German edition was brought into question and on April 5, 1884, Rolleston wrote to Whitman

By the way--what sort of title would do for the book? 'Selected Poems from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass'? or better, Translations from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass'. Or one might indeed put simply 'Leaves of Grass', for your successive enlarged editions all bore that name, and I hope that gradually this work of mine will expand till your whole book is fully rendered in it.34

Rolleston completed his translations at the end of 1884 but was unable to contract a publishing house for the ﬁrst edition. In 1885, however, Karl Knortz informed Whitman of a possible publisher in Switzerland. Schabelitz of Ziirich agreed to publish the work with the stipulation that Whitman provide all ﬁnancial costs to cover expenses.” This was to ensure minimal investment loss to the publishing house, should the volume prove a failure. Whitman complied and the book, under the simple title Grashalme (Leaves of

Grass), ﬁnally appeared in 1889. The Briicke would form sixteen years later; its members, especially Kirchner, would revere this vade mecum as an inspirational guide into the inﬁnite realms of a new creativity.

341nm, 88.

351bid., 11. CHAPTER II

THE DOCTRINE OF THE BRUCKE ARTISTS

IN LIFE AND ART

Having discussed Whitman and the Leaves of Grass in the preceding chapter I

would now like to compare the philosophy of the Briicke group with that of the poet. The

Briicke formed in 1905, at the time Impressionism had completed its belated entrance into

the German art world and Jugendstil had established itself as the "modem" movement of

the day. The city of Dresden was imbued with early eighteenth-century architecture, which

was an inspirational source for a plenitude of artists. It was in this setting that the Briicke

painters launched their quest for a means of expression in work and lifestyle which

paralleled that of Whitman.

The aspirations of the Expressionists were manifold: they rejected bourgeois

society and the conventional tradition of the academies and sought to conceive an art which

would best express their individuality. Kirchner expounded on this idea in his Briicke manifesto of 1906

Believing in development and in a new generation both of those who create and of those who enjoy, we call all young people together, and as young people who carry the future in us we want to wrest freedom for our gestures and for our lives from the older, comfortably established forces. We claim as our own everyone who reproduces directly and without falsiﬁcation whatever it is that drives him to create.1

They labored to establish--physically as well as metaphysically--what Barry Herbert so aptly describes as a "medieval workshop."2 This term implies a communal work

1 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 21.

14 15 atmosphere, which was to become a hallmark of their association and eventually encompass their personal lives. The group professed their aversion to the impersonal, technology-ridden German society of the early twentieth-century through their art, as

Whitman had done through his poetry, and attempted to generate a bond between man, nature and the universe.3 In German Expressionist Painting Peter Selz writes

..... they spent several weeks with a number of women companions nude in the forests, bathing, living in huts or tents. Yet they wanted more than an objective study of the human body in action. They were prompted by a desire to achieve new strength through a close link with the sources of nature...4

This closely binds poet and painters, not only as artists in their respective mediums but as soul mates separated only by time. Whitman’s love of the human body and his admiration of nature prompted him to expound upon this subject in his poetry, as the Expressionists portrayed it on canvas. During the late nineteenth century the nudist movement began to emerge in Germany as a viable alternative to city life.5 Groups such as the Youth

Movement and the Wandervogel provided those disillusioned with bourgeois society the opportunity to pursue a life devoid of the trappings of the urban metropolis.6 With the popularization of the movement nudist colonies, such as Eden in Oranienburg, became havens of lifestyle reform.7 In German Expressionism: Primitivism and Modernity, Jill

Lloyd summarizes the philosophy of Heinrich Pudor, an important spokesman for the

2 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Brticke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 7.

3 Jill Lloyd, German Expressionism: Primitivism and Modernity, (New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1991), viii-ix. Lloyd mentions the debate between Ernst Bloch and Georg Lukacs, published in Das Wort (‘Diskussion ﬁber Expressionismus’, Das Wort, Moscow, 1938), as an important issue in the discussion of modernist primitivism.

4 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 98.

5 Jill Lloyd, German Expressionism: Primitivism and Modernity, (New Haven, Conn., Yale University Press, 1991), 107.

6 Ibid., 107.

7 Ibid., 107. 16 nudist movement.8 According to Pudor, man must initiate an evolutionary regression which would reduce his image of humankind to a plant (‘pure’ vegetable state); thus would he commence to develop well at an early stage and live in harmony with the natural world.9

As man slowly became a slave to the machinery which served him, the artists rebelled and turned to nature as a reafﬁrrnation of belief in humanity. Hermann Baht, in his book

Expressionismus writes

..... er ist ein Werkzug seines eigenen Werkes geworden, er hat keinen Sinn mehr, seit er nur noch der Maschine dient. Sie hat ihm die Seele weggenommen. Und jetzt will ihn die Seele wieder haben. and .....

N iemals war Freude so fern und Freiheit so tot. Da schreit die Not jetzt auf: der Mensch schreit nach seiner Seele, die ganze Zeit wird ein einziger N otschrei. Auch die Kunst schreit mit, in die tiefe Fmstemis hinein, sie schreit um Hilfe, sie schreit nach dem Geist: das ist der Expressionismus.10

At its inception the group lacked a space to meet to discuss ideas and work. This was solved by the resourcefulness of Heckel, who rented an abandoned butchershop in the Berlinerstrasse, a quiet street in Friedrichstadt, the working-class district of Dresden. The location of the studio is crucial, as Herbert writes

Far removed from the city's fashionable quarter, the area's proletarian atmosphere was ideally suited to their self- conscious throwing-off of middle-class comforts and restraints. 11

8 Ibid., 108.

9 Ibid.. 108

10 Hermann Baht, Expressionismus, (Mitnchen: Delphin Verlag, 1918), 80. (i)" ..... he has become a mechanism of his own creation, he no longer serves any purpose since he now only serves a machine. It has captured his soul. And now he wants his soul returned" (ii) "Never was joy so distant and freedom so dead. Misery screams out now; man screams for his soul, time has become a single cry of distress. Art screams also, into the deep, endless darkness, it screams for help, it screams for the spirit: that is Expressionism."

11 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Briicke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 13. 17 A parallel may be drawn here to Whitman and his love of the working class, which was examined in Chapter I. In "Song of the Broad-Axe" Whitman articulated his admiration for the proletariat

Where the slave ceases and the master of slaves ceases Where the populace rise at once against the never-ending audacity of elected persons, Where ﬁerce men and women pour forth as the sea to the whistle of death pours its sweeping and unript waves, Where outside authority enters always after the precedence of inside authority, Where the citizen is always the head and ideal, and President, Mayor and Governor and what not, are agents for pay ..... 12 and in "Song of the Exposition" the poet wrote

Ah, little reeks the labourer, How near his work is holding him to God, The loving Labourer, through time and space.13 The artists' communal studio inspired the evolution of an eclectic style of art which reflected a myriad of individual as well as collective influence.l4 It was here they formed their individual and mutual philosophy, developing simultaneously a sense of comradeship which Whitman had so desired.15 The primary theme of their work was the human body in relationship to nature and urban life.16 This harmonization of man with the physical world led to the artists' identification of the soul, nature and the universe as possessing intertwining elements which rendered them a whole.17 The group sought to express spontaneously the emotions which were awakened within the soul by contact with the

12 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 215.

13 Ibid., 223.

14 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Brt‘icke and der Blane Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 13.

15 (i) Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 78. (ii) Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Brr’icke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 13.

16 Wolf-Dieter Dude, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 31.

17 Bernard Myers, “Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Die Briicke”, Magazine of An 15, (1952), 24. 1 8 physical world, i.e. nature. While on retreat in the Hudson River area Whitman wrote, in

"Starting from Paumanok"

Behold, the body includes and is the meaning, the main concern, and includes and is the Soul: Whoever you are, how superb and how devine is your body, or any part of it!18

Wilhelm Worringer, German art critic/theorist and an early supporter of the Briicke

painters, wrote in his essay "Kritische Gedanken zur Neuen Kunst"

Nach seinem Glauben ist der Mensch ein Theil Natur and als solcher gottlich, weil die N atur letzten Endes giittlich ist ..... 19 Woninger refers here to the artist's belief in man as a divine part of nature, which certainly echos the conviction of Whitman ﬁfty years earlier. This belief has its roots in the religion and philosophy of Pantheism, the worship of nature as the supreme deity of the universe.

In General Sketch of the History of Pantheism, Plumptre wrote

Pantheism is that which believes God and Nature to be one and the same thing; which thinks he is at once the maker and the Material; which, in the words of the Vedas, pictures him to be at the same time both the Potter and the Clay.20

Pantheism was ﬁrst mentioned in the Vedas, the sacred books of the Brahmans, and dates back approximately four thousand years.21 It propagates the concept of man and the soul as components of nature which possess characteristics of the divine.22 As Plumptre wrote

Regard man and wonder at his valour and courage, his rectitude and endurance. Is there not something truly god-like about him, then? Have we not all, each and

18 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 24.

19 Wilhelm Worringer, "Kritische Gedanken zur Neuen Kunst", Genius 2 (1920), 228. “According to his(the Expressionist) belief, man is a part of nature and as such, divine, because nature itself is ultimately divine...”

20 CE. Plumtre, General Sketch of the History of Pantheism, Vol. 1, (London: Spottiswoode and Co., 1878), 4.

211m: 29.

22 Ibid., 15. 19 every one of us, felt that there is a divinity within us giving us thoughts and irnpelling us to deeds so great that we feel we are not the authors of them ourselves? Are we not at times conscious that we are rays emanating ﬁom the Creator, to be re-absorbed in Him hereafter?23 It is not known whether Whitman was familiar with the writings of Plumptre but the sirniliairities between the philosophy of the poet and Pantheism can not be overlooked.

Whitman conveyed similar thoughts on the divine in "A Song for Occupations"

We consider bibles and religions divine-- I do not say they are not divine, I say they have grown out of you, and may grow out of you still, It is not they who give the life, it is you who give the life, Leaves are not more shed from the trees, or trees ﬁom the earth, Then they are shed out of you}:4

In this poem Whitman afﬁrms his conviction that all which is generally regarded in society as divine—Le, religion, the concept of a supreme "deity", etc.--ermnates from man.

According to Whitman's philosophy, a primeval yearning for the natural world is also an inherent element of the soul. Thus, the insepelability of man and nature creates a state of human divinity.

In light of this we may consider the artist's monomania for nature as the ultimate setting in which to create their art. Working in naturel enabled the painters to express those emotions which recognized and exulted the beauty of the human body as well as the beauty of the natural world. In 1911 the International Hygiene Exhibition, dedicated to alternative medical care, was held in Dresden.25 Tire exhibition housed several installations of primitive art and life, including one devoted to the natives of North America. Kirchner and Heckel designed a poster for this event that depicted naked archers reminiscent of hunters indigenous to the North American continent and reaﬂirmed the artists interest in

23 Ibid, 13.

24 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 245.

25 Jill Lloyd, German Expressionism: Primitivism and Modernity, (New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1991), 117. 20 primitive cultures.26 The painters’ relationship with nature and primitivism developed

more fully during the summers spent at Moritzburg, as Lloyd wrote

..... the Moritzburg summers provided an opportunity for the Briicke artists to recreate their Bohemian studio lifestyles in an open-air setting. Stripped of their clothes and ‘civilized’ trappings, the artists and their models were ‘at one’ with nature and led the life of modern ‘primitives’ - bathing in the nude and playing games with bows and arrows and boomerangs on the model of Karl May Red Indian stories.27

In 1906 the artists began their annual sojoums to the Dresden countryside; the initiative,

according to Selz, was taken by Schmidt-Rottluff and the remaining members of the group

quickly followed his example.28 Not only did this complement their mystical philbsophy of man and nature in peaceful coexistence with the cosmos but served a professional

purpose as well: it allowed the painters to study the movement of the human body in

natural surroundings. It was of utmost importance that the models move ﬁeely and

without self-consciousness in order to capture the immediate emotion as well as the

spontaneous interaction with nature. Selz writes

..... It was a worship of the freely moving human body as a part of the total complex of nature.29

Whitman's celebration of the human body was a source of consternation among his critics and a select few of his supporters. In concordance with the poet's philosophy, the body was the receptacle of the soul and nature a cathedral in which to worship. In "Starting from

Paumano " he wrote

261m. 117. 27 Ibid., 30; Karl May’s western adventures became extremely popular in German society and are still widely read.)

28 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 99. There is some discrepancy among authors as the actual dates and places in regard to certain events; however, all are unanimous in assigning 1906 as the ﬁrst year in which Schmidt-Rottluff visited Nolde on Alsen. Myers claims that Kirchner spent the summers of 1907-1909 in Moritzburg ("Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and die Briicke", 20); Dube establishes 1908 as the ﬁrst year (summer) which Kirchner spent on the island of Fehmam (The Expressionists, 39) and Selz contends that Kirchner made his initial pilgrimage to the Baltic island in 1912 (99).

29 Ibid., 98. 21 Was somebody asking to see the soul? See, your own shape and countenance, persons, substance, beasts, the trees, The running rivers, the rocks, and sands.3O In "Children of Adam" Whitman expressed the emotion and subject matter which characterized the Briieke's painting

As I see my soul reﬂected in Nature, As I see through a mist, One with inexpressible completeness, sanity, beauty, See the bent head and arms folded over the breast, The female I 866.31

Schrnidt—Rottluff was the ﬁrst of the Briicke artists to abandon the city in favor of a more natural location in which to work. In 1906 he visited Emil Nolde on the island of

Alsen and spent the summer painting outdoors.32 Kirchner also traveled in 1906 to the

Moritzburg Lake district and invited Pechstein to join him during the summer of 1907. In the same year Heckel and Sehmidt-Rottluff began to frequent the area of Dangast near Oldenburg.33 The summers of 1910, 1912 and 1913 were spent exclusively in Moritzburg and on the island of Fehmam, which became a favorite retreat of Kirchner.34 These years were very important to the artists in regard to their individual development but more signiﬁcantly, they were the last productive sessions the Expressionists experienced as a group.35 The evolution of a theory concerning the existence of man in nature, the concept of man and nature as critical components of the universe was a result of these excursions.

30 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 24.

311hid., 111.

32 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Brucke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 23.

33 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkely: University of California Press, 1974), 99. 34 Ibid., 99.

35 Ibid., 99. 22 Selz writes in German Expressionist Painting

Moritzburg became the Argenteuil of the Briicke, and it was here especially that the painters developed their theories of the unity of man and nature.36

The artists' predilection for painting together in nature also promoted their sense of

comraderie and desire for a society which was untainted by the technological advances of

the modern world. Here they could express themselves in a free, distinctive manner and

simultaneously further their cause of a new, emotionally-charged art. The equanirnity the

painters acquired through their relationship with nature was just as meaningful to Whitman, as he wrote in" Song of the Answerer"

Divine instinct, breadth of vision, the law of reason, health, rudeness of body, withdrawness, Gaiety, sun-tan, air-sweetness, such are some of the words of poems.37

The spiritual in nature was a concept of signiﬁcant importance to the artists. Spiritual

implied unity within the cosmos and ecumenical brotherhood in physical as well as ethereal terms.33 Woninger believed the spiritual in nature to be a salient feature of their artistic creed, as he wrote Die Natur lebt auch in aller expressionistischen und visionaren Kunst, aber ist eine besondere Art von Natur. Und darin liegt gerade die visionare Sehlagkraft aller spirituellen Kunst, dass sie irnmer, wenn sie von Natur sprieht, die Urlauthafte der Natur meint.39

This observation of Woninger's is in direct reference to the Expressionists' abhorrenee of the academic tradition in painting they so enthusiastically evaded. An art which

36 Ibid., 99.

37 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 191.

38 Victor Miesel, Voices of German Expressionism, (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: 1970), 19-20.

39 Wilhelm Worringer, "Kritishe Gedanken zur Neuen Kunst", Genius 2, (1920), 226. “Nature lives also in all expressionistic and visionary art, but it is a special variety of nature. And therein lies the visionary power of all spiritual art; when it speaks of nature, it speaks of the beauty of primeval nature.” 23 emotionally uniﬁed the axiomatic components of the universe was a principal objective of the artists. Whitman pursued this goal in his poetry and in "A Song of Joys" realized the oneness of man and the cosmos

O the joy of my soul leaning poised on itself, receiving identity through materials and loving them, observing characters and absorbing them, My soul vibrated back to me from them, from sight, hearing, touch, reason, articulation, comparison, memory and the like, The real life of my senses and flesh transcending my my senses and flesh, My body done with materials my sight done with my material eyes, Proved to me this day beyond cavil that it is not my material eyes which finally see, Nor my material body which finally loves, walks, laughs, shouts, embraces, procreatesflO

It was not only the depiction of the human ﬁgure in nature which absorbed the

Expressionists. The theme of the human ﬁgure in an urban setting was also a compelling subject for the artists. The city personiﬁed the chaos of society and generated a pulsating atmosphere which provided an endless source of material for the painters. Each artist responded in differing ways to urban life and as such approached its thematic possibilities in an individualistic manner. Cafes, entertainment and street life were alluring topics and were executed in vibrant color and brushstroke, especially those works by Kirchner.41 As disparate as the individual artist's interest in the city may have been, it is obvious that an enigma of urban life was the unifying force among the painters as a group: the concept of a societal brotherhood in an isolating-at times depressing «society.

The themes of city life were also represented in a paradoxical manner by the artists-

-one moment depicting the jovial atmosphere of a cafe, as in Kirchner’s Panama Girls,

1910, and the next moment reveling in the fear and loneliness of passers-by on street

40 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 205.

41 Bernard Myers, “Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Die Briicke”, Magazine of Art 15, (1952), 24. 24 comer."'2 Here we may once again make allusion to Whitman and his sentiments on urban life, which closely resembled those of the Briicke group. He believed in the comraderie which a metropolis could provide but was also not so naive as to ignore the dismal elements which pervaded city life.43 This, however, did not diminish Whitman's passion for humanity nor did it taint the Expressionists' portrayal of a reath they viewed as essential to the human condition. In "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" Whitman wrote

You have waited, you always wait, you dumb, beautiful ministers, We receive you with free sense at last, and are insatiate henceforward, Not you anymore shall be able to foil us, or withhold yourselves from us, We use you, and do not cast aside--we plant you permanently within us, We fathom you not--we love you--there is perfection in you also, You furnish your parts toward eternity, Great or small, you furnish your parts toward the soul.44

Here Whitman addresses the metropolis--in all its perfection and imperfection—as provider to the soul of humanity. In "Our Old Feuillage" Whitman spoke of the juxtaposing force of urban life. Man is an individual with a distinct personality but contemporaneously is metamorphosed into an element of the city and contributes to its form and purpose. In this poem Whitman uses the isle of Mannahatta as example

And I too of the Mannahatta, singing thereof- and no less in myself than the whole of the Mannahatta in itself, Singing the song of These, my ever-united lands, my body no more inevitably united part, to part, and made out of a thousand contributions one identity, and more than my lands are inevitably united and made ONE IDENTITY.“

42 Ibid., 23-4. Myer’s article provides interesting commentary on this subject.

43 Henry Binns, A Life of Walt Whitman, (New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd., 1969), 41-2.

44 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 186.

45 Ibid., 199. 25 The Expressionists were interested in artistic creativity rather than in the formal technique espoused by the acadarny. Through violent expression their work transmitted a raw emotion which established a bridge between the artists and the general public. This, indeed, was one of their prime goals; to create an art for the masses, one with which the public could identify on a common level. Dube writes that

..... j ust as the Briicke set themselves apart from other artists' associations as a serious ﬁghting unit, so their challenge differed fundamentally from the manifestos of others. Here, in Dresden, in the year 1906, the consumer, the person who came to look, was taken into consideration on terms of equality with the artists for the ﬁrst time. Faith was pinned on the 'new generation both of those who create and of those who enjoy'. Thus it was not for the artists to form cells, but to alter the consciousness of members of the public by forming groups that included them.46 In December, 1906 or January, 1907 (see Herbert, 34), the artists wrote and illustrated a manuscript--titled "Odi Profanum"--whieh was in direct response to the criticism of their recently-exhibited work. As Selz writes

The title, derived from Horace's Odi profanum vulgus, expresses their scorn 'not for the common masses, not for the masses in the social sense, but for the bigoted and philistine bourgeoisie, solidiﬁed in its biased tradition.‘ Unfortunately, this important document has disappeared-47

Herbert is also convinced of the volume’s destruction, as he writes in German

Expressionism: die Briicke and der Blaue Reiter

This unique early example of expressionist book design was subsequently destroyed in an air-raid which wrecked Heckel's Berlin studio in 1944-48

45 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionsists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 29.

47 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 79.

48 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Briicke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 35. 26 The book, however, survived in ﬁagments and in 1991 the article "Von Leibl bis

Pechstein" appeared in the Kunsthaus Zl'irich exhibition catalog with the following information

Das "Odi Profanum", dass Kirchner als Bueh yezeiehnete, ist genau genommen ein Werk, class aus mindesten zwei Biinden bestand. Es ist heute nur noch teilweise erhalten. Als Geschenk war es ﬁber Sidi Heckel in das Briicke Museum in Berlin gelangt.49 This manuscript is further evidence of the artist's desire to communicate with the masses while taking umbrage at the ignorance of the bourgeoisie. Whitman also championed this cause and fought for the availability of art in all form and content. This sensibility was possibly the result of his admiration for the German philosopher Herder. Richard

Riethmiiller summarizes Herder's theory on poetry in "Walt Whitman and the Germans"

If the origin of poetry and of language is one, poetry cannot be the privilege of a few ﬁnely educated men; it must be a gift for the world and for the peoples. Poetry ranks the higher, the nearer the nation or the individual, that composes it, stands in its relation to nature; that is the reason why the most glorious productions are those of the oldest peoples, and of the children of nature, like Moses and Homer.50 This begs the question: May we include "art"--or "painting"--here as well as "poetry"? Yes, it is possible. Were not the Expressionists purveyors of what they hoped would evolve into a global art? An art for the everyman, not exclusively for the tradition-sodden bourgeoisie? German philosophers held a certain attraction for the Briicke members, especially Nietzsche; whether they were familiar with the writings of Herder, however, is

49 Kunsthaus Ziirich, "Von Leibl bis Pechstein; deutsche Zeichnungen aus den Bestanden der graphisehen Sammlung”, Kunsthaus Zr’irich: Sammlungsheft 16, (ZiIrich: Kunsthaus Ziirich, 1991), 56- 7. "Kirchner identiﬁed 'Odi Profanum' as a book; literally viewed it is a work that was comprised of at least two volumes. Today it is only partially preserved and was presented by Sidi Heckel as a gift to the Briicke Museum, Berlin." This information was provided by Bernhard von Waldkirch, assistant director of the Kunsthaus Ziirich.

50 Richard Riethmiiller, "Walt Whitman and the Germans", German American Annals, 4, (1906), 41-2. 27 not known.51 But the effect of Herder's theory on the poet and thus the inevitable-albeit unwitting-affect on the artists is evident in the poems "To you"

Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me?52 and "Thou Reader"

Thou reader throbbest life and pride and love the same as 1, Therefore for thee the following chants.53 Whitman deﬁned himself as one with the reader, as the Expressionists deﬁned themselves as one with the spectator. Through their representation of emotion on canvas—as the poet's on paper--they exposed their inner selves in an effort aid common man's on-going spiritual development.

51 Donald Gordon, "German Expressionism", Museum of Modern Art, ed. William Rubin, Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Aﬂ‘inity of the Tribal and the Modern, (New York: Museum of Modern Art, distrib. by New York Graphic Society Books, 1984), 371.

52 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 14.

53 Ibid, 16. CHAPTER III

AN ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE PAINTINGS

BY SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF, HECKEL, PECHSTEIN

AND KIRCHNER

The main focus of this research is the literary inﬂuence of Whitman on the Briicke artists. Parallels have been drawn between the poet and the Briicke which shall be substantiated in this chapter through the analysis of two paintings which best represent each artist. I have chosen eight paintings that I feel best reﬂect the common philosophy of the

Briieke group and at the same time depict the individuality of each painter in execution and style. The human figure in nature and the concept of societal comraderie versus isolation were subjects germane to the artists and shall be discussed within the context of Whitrnan’s writing. This shall establish the relevance of the works analyzed in this chapter. The works span a period of three years - from 1911 to 1913. This period is quite relevant in that the artists have sufficiently evolved a method of painting unique to their personal needs but have not abandoned the driving ideology, so prevalent in their work, which unified them as a group. The writings of such renowned scholars as Victor Miesel, Donald

Gordon, Paul Fechter, Ernst Gosebruch and others will also be introduced to support the basic premise of this thesis.

The initial formation of the Briicke occurred in Dresden. During the ensuing years the group worked in rented warehouses and shop-fronts as a commune, aiding and guiding

28 29 one another along the path of artistic development.1 This "communal" element became so extreme it was difﬁcult, on occasion, to discern individual works or styles, as the artists did not apply their signatures to paintings during this period.2 This was in accordance with the

group‘s desire to create a "working brotherhood" and followed the medieval practice of collective recognition as opposed to the recognition and success of the individual.3 The years 1906-1910 were especially productive for the group; we may attribute this to the artists' exodus to the countryside, discussed in Chapter H. In 1911, following the lead of

Pechstein, the group moved to Berlin. Berlin had been appointed the capital of the German

Empire in 1871 and had developed into a bustling, cosmopolitan center, able to offer the artists more stimuli than the tranquillity of Dresden.4 It was here that the artists began to develop and eventually mature as individual painters while still retaining their collective artistic philosophy.

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was perhaps the most introverted member of the Briicke.5

This introvertive personality was in strong contrast to the style of his work prior to 1912. In "Blutezeit der dresdener Briicke" Schmidt writes

Wir sahen, wie kiihn sieh die Briickemaler als geschlossene Gruppe widersetzten. Ihre Abweichung von der natunnassen "Richtigkeit" von Perspektive, ihre Vereinfachungen und die grelle Heftigkeit ihrer Farben schlugcn der grauen Trostlosigkeit bei den akademisch gewordenen Irnpressionisten heftig ins Gesicht.‘5

1 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Brr'icke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 7.

2 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkley: University of California Press, 1974), 78.

3 Barry Herbert, German Expressionism: die Bn’icke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 7.

4 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 130. 5 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 64.

6 Paul Schmidt, “Blutezeit der dresdener Briicke”, Aussaat 2 (1947), 54. “We saw how boldly the Briicke artists—united as a groupnresisted convention. Their deviation from the natural ‘correctness’ of perspective, their simpliﬁcation and the shrill vehemence of their color hit the gray dreariness of the academic Impressionists violently in the face.” 30 This statement is applicable to every member of the Briicke but is especially evident in the

works of Schmidt-Rottiuff. His penchant for pure, raw colon-especially various hues of

blue and red--is a distinguishing feature of his work. The dynamic bnrshstroke he

developed by 1907, coupled with his use of color, gave violent life and expression to his

painting. An autodidact, he concentrated on the landscape as primary subject matter until

1912, which heralded the beginning of a new era for his art Schrnidt-Rottluff now began a

slow incorporation of the human ﬁgure into his work; he also altered his technique and

after a summer on the Dangast moors returned to Berlin with a calmer brushstroke and

pictorial unity which reﬂected the months he spent working in plein-air.7 The consequence

of new subject matter, coupled with an evolution in style, is described by Herbert

The result was a symbolic unity of form and colour that expressed the artist's concept of harmony between man and nature with a powerful but unreﬁned universality.8 In the summer of 1913 Schmidt-Rottiuff painted Three Nudes (Figure 1). The work was completed in N idden and exudes an aura of harmony between ﬁgures and land-

scape. The nudes are extremely coarse and primitive in appearance--symbolic of the primeval elements of nature--and succinctly represent the writing of Whitman in their relationship to the natural world. In "Song of the Rolling Earth" Whitman wrote

Whoever you are! Motion and reﬂection are especially for you, Whoever you are! you are he or she for whom the earth is solid and liquid, You are he or she for whom the sun and moon hang in the sky, For none more than you are the present and the past, For none more than you is immortality.9

In this poem Whitman echoes the all-consuming strive for freedom through nature that

Schmidt-Rottluff so devoutly pursued. The concept of immortality may refer to the

7 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 64.

3 Barry Herbert, German Expressisonism: die Brr‘icke and der Blaue Reiter, (London: Jupiter Books, 1983), 81. 9 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 255. 31

' FIGURE ONE THREE NUDES, 1913. NATION ALGALERIE, BERLIN 32 perpetuity of nature and the eternal continuance of man therein. We may interpret this as an allusion to divinity-although physical death is inevitable, the irmnortality of the soul is unquestionable. In "Song of Joys" is found this passage

0 for the voices of animals--O for the swiftness and balance of ﬁshes! O for the dropping of raindrops in a song! 0 for the sunshine and motion of waves in a song!

0 joy of my spirit--it is uncaged--it darts like lightening! It is not enough to have this globe or a certain time, I will have thousands of globes and all time.10 The Expressionists' general theory of the divinity of man and nature within the cosmos is represented in the last line of the stanza; thus, immortality may constitute the divine.

This pantheistic view was explained by Plumptre

Greek philosophy in its highest state of development regarded the soul as something more than the sum of the moments of thinking. It held it to be a portion of the Deity himself. This doctrine is the necessary corollary of Pantheism It contemplated a past eternity, a future immortality.ll

Schmidt-Rottiuff’ s desire to capture - and depict - complete fieedom in painting is mirrored here; the reference to the natural world reflects the artist’s passion for the oneness of man and the universe. The seated figure in the background appears to grow out of the vegetation in the foreground and implies a unity between man and nature. The strong primitive element which pervades the figures also suggests the theory of Lloyd in regard to the nudist cult discussed in Chapter II. These factors combine to support the beliefs of

Whitman and Schmidt-Rottluff; thus Three Nudes may essentially be viewed as a proclamation of the painter’s philosophy, rendered on canvas. During the months in Nidden, Schmidt-Rottluff also painted Summer (Figure 2).

This work even more dramatically reﬂects the mood of nature, with more detailed attention given the landscape. The ﬁgures occupy a prominent position on the canvas and although

10 Ibid., 200.

11 CE. Plumptre, General Sketch of the History of Pantheism, Vol. 1, (London: Spottiswoode and Co., 1878), 15. 33

army‘s...“ My.» ‘ .r_. inhaling, ‘18-“ .

,. t; l. r 5'

FIGURE TWO SUMMER, 1913 LANDESMUSEUM, HANOVER 34 interaction among them is limited, an undercurrent of comraderie prevails. The ﬁgure on

the right, her torso contorted to her left, appears unaware of her companion's presence. As

well, the female in the center--with her back to the spectator-4s totally immersed in the

surrounding landscape. Amid these isolating elements, however, exists a soothing

emotion of shared experience, a oneness between ﬁgures and nature. The composition of

this painting represents the ultimate paradox which so occupied the Expressionists--the

concept of brotherhood (unity) in coexistence with isolation. Kirchner treated this theme in

his works of urban life; Schmidt-Rottluff rarely used the city as subject matter, preferring

to express such conﬂicting emotion within the context of ﬁgures and landscapes. In

commenting on Summer Gosebruch writes

Hinter diesem Bilde spiirt man schon die Schwarmerei einer empﬁndsarnen Seele.12 Schmidt-Rottluff held a very simplistic view of his own creative process. In response to a questionnaire distributed by an art periodical in 1914 the artist wrote

As for me, I know that I don't have any program, only an inexplicable yearning to lay hold of what I see and feel and then to ﬁnd the most direct expression possible for such experience. I only know that there are things which neither the intellect nor words can grasp. Actually, if you want my honest opinion, I‘m convinced you can't talk about art. At best, all you will have is a translation, a poetic paraphrase, and as for that, I'll leave that to the poets.13

Whitman rises joyously to the occasion; in "Song of the Rolling Earth" he wrote

A song of the rolling earth, and of words according, Were you thinking that those were the words, those up- right lines? those curves, angles, dots? No, those are not the words, the substantial words are in the ground and sea, Theyareintheair,theyareinyou.

Human bodies are words, myriads of words, (In the best poems reappears the body, man's or woman's,

12 Ernst Gosebruch, "Schmidt-Rottiuff', Genius 2 (1920), 10. “Behind this painting, one perceives the ecstasy of a sensitive soul.”

13 Victor Miesel, Voices of German Expressionism, (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: 1970), 29. 35 well-shaped, natural gay, Every part able, active, receptive, without shame or the need of shame). 14

Schmidt-Rottiuff relegated the task of interpretation of his art to the "poets". He created,

however, "poetry" on canvas by utilizing color and brushstroke which gave form to his

inner emotion. Whitman created his own "art" with poetry; he supplied the reader with the

means to create within the imagination a vast canvas of expression which was born of the

written word. Hence, the role of poet and painter merge and become one. Whitman

speaks of "lines, curves, angles, dots" as artistic means of expression and the human body

as a necessary element of good poetry. These were the very forms Schmidt-Rottluff

employed to give life to his painting. Thus, in this capacity the artist became the "poet" of

his creation.

Erich Heckel was a volatile, restless character. Although a good friend of Schmidt-

Rottluff, Heckel was more similar in personality to Kirchner, which may explain the antagonistic relationship they shared. Heckel, dillusioned with early twentieth-century

society, sought comfort through the intense, emotional outlet of his painting. His commitment to the truthful depiction of life--whether in the studio or in nature-prompted

Kirchner to write on the event of their ﬁrst meeting in 1904,

This total dedication shone in Erich Heckel's eyes the ﬁrst time he came to my studio to draw nudes and climbed the stairs declairning aloud from Zarathustra 15 Kirchner was very impressed with Heckel and viewed him as the most intelligent painter of the group. It was, according to Gordon, " ..... Heckel who, during the group's evenings together in 1905 and 1906, would read."

this or that poem out of Kirchner's books, or would recite it from memory in a manner thrilling, moving, vitally brilliant--whether it was 'die Briick’ am Tay,’ 'Zwei F u'sse

14 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 251.

15 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 28. 36 im Feuer', or, from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass ..... 16

The portrayal of the human body in nature was a very important theme to Heckel. As

Schmidt-Rottluff, he was self-taught and stylistically used this naivete to his advantage. A

lack of technical training provided him license to experiment freely and conﬁdently in a

manner which may have been avoided by a more academically trained artist. 17 His

paintings are executed in sharp lines and awash in garish colors which-oddly--form a

cohesive unity on canvas. Bathers (Figure 3), dated 1912, is a perfect example of sharp

lines interwoven to create a chaotic frenzy of emotion and simultaneously a peaceful

atmosphere of interaction between man and the natural world. The ﬁgures lack detail but

clearly portray the delight of human company, even in a society in which, according to

Heckel, absolute confusion reigned. 18 Two ﬁgures (top, middle-right) are fused together in

a pose which suggests a playful, harmonious relationship; Schmidt, in "Erich Heckel

Anfange", writes

Am liebsten zeichnete er menschliche Akte, die sieh im Freien bewegen, um die Pracht des Kiirpers in der Freiheit der Natur, der Sonne, des Griins und des Wassers zu erkennen.19

And as Dube writes...

The second stay in Dangast deepened the experience of unspoiled nature; but its effect was shown above all in a freedom and expansiveness in the choice and representation of subjects.20

“5 Donald Gordon, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1968), 18.

17 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 53.

18 Donald Gordon, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univeristy Press, 1968), 81.

19 Paul Schmidt, "Erich Heckels Anfange", Zeitschrift ﬁir bildende Kunst 55, (1920), 260. “He preferred to draw the movement of the human nude outdoors in order to realize the splendor of the body in the freedom of nature, the sun, in the green and in water.”

20 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 55. H3

EQCWm Hgmm weed—Am”? $5 COFFmOH—OZ Om HS”. an 25m. ZOwHOZ U. 0.9%. ma. FOCHm 38 Heckel, writes Dube, "possessed an almost mystical ideal of friendship and of artistic unity in the common cause...."21 This statement unites Whitman and the painter as two artists who shared a common Weltanschauung. Whitman wrote in "Song of the Rolling Earth"

The earth does not argue, Is not pathetic, has no arrangements, Does not scream, haste, persuade, threaten, promise, Makes no discriminations, has no conceivable failures, Closes nothing, refuses nothing, shuts none out, Of all the powers, objects, states, it notiﬁes, shuts none out.

The poet recognized the turmoil and discord of society in this work; as Heckel, he turned to the earth and nature for solace, and rejoiced in its ability to heal even the most desperate and isolated of men. In Day of Glass (Figure 4), 1913, Heckel developed a calmer brushstroke. The short, nervous swipe of the brush evolved into longer, more ﬂuid movements which conjoined the landscape, sky and water with the rounded ﬁgure of the female. This intimates the relationship of man and the natural world within the cosmos. Dube writes...

The atmosphere is made visible and so helps to fuse sky, earth, water and man in a single experience.23 The unity of elements in this painting echoes the fact that, "Heckel sah das Urgewaltige der

Natur in allen Dingen."24 Heckel depicted this concept of "primeval nature" in his painting.

His work mutely-but emotionally-~irnparts to the spectator a message of universality, much as Whitrnan‘s poetry imparts its similar message to the reader. The rough female

ﬁgure in harmony with the surrounding landscape becomes an element of the universe, metamorphosed into a fragment of the natural world. Executed in various hues of blue,

211bid.,54.

22 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921 ), 252.

23 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 61.

24 Paul Schmidt, "Erich Heckels Anfange", Zeitschn‘ft ﬁir bildende Kunst 55, (1920), 261. “Heckel saw the primality of nature in all things.” 39

FIGURE FOUR DAY OF GLASS, 1913 COLLECTION OF M. KRUSS, BERLIN .. (ON LOAN TO STAATSGALERIE MODERNER KUNST, MUNCHEN) 40 brown and green, the body appears to possess characteristics similar to the water, earth and

sky. In this manner a unity of the human and the universal is achieved. Both poet and

painter were aware of the powerful force of the cosmos and transcended the baseness of

society to engage in a higher form of communication with man and nature. This was

accomplished through their art, as Whitman wrote

The workmanship of souls is by those inaudible words Of the earth,

The masters know the earth's words and use them more than audible words.25

Max Pechstein joined the Briicke in 1906, after a brief encounter with Heckel at the

Dresden Arts and Crafts exhibition. He described their ﬁrst meeting in Erinnerungen

Fiir den sachsisehen Pavilion der Ausstellung sollte ich irn Auftrag der Architekten Lossow und Max Hans Kiihre ein Deckenbild malen, wie auch einige kleinere Deekenbilder ﬁir Professor Wilhelm Kreis. In dem grossen Deckenbild variierte ich meine Tulpen. Doch als ich vor der ErOffnung hinging, sah ich mit Entsetzen, dass man das brennende Rot dutch glaue Spritzer gedampft, emiichtert hatte. Das Geriist war verschwunden; Ohnmachtig stand ich unten und konnte nicht mehr zu meiner Arbeit in die HOhe gelangen. Wl'itend machte ich meinem Herzen Luft. PlOtinch stand jemand neben mir, der mir irn Schimpfen sekundierte. Es war Erich Heckel, darnals noch bei Kreis beschaftigt. Begliickt entdeckten wir einen restlosen Gleichklang irn Drang nach Befreiung, nach einer vorwarts stiirmenden, nicht durch Kovention gehemmten Kunst. SO stiess ich zu der Vereinigung der "Briicke" ..... 26

His exuberant, Optimistic personality was reﬂected in his early painting, which depicts a

grace and ease absent in the work of Kirchner, Heckel and Schmidt-Rottluff. Pechstein

25 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 252.

26 Max Pechstein, Erinnerungen, (Wiesbaden: Limes Veriag, 1960), 22-3. “For the Saxon exhibition pavilion I was commissioned by the architects Lossow and Max Hans Kiihne to paint the ceiling, as well as a few smaller ceilings for Professor Wilhelm Kreis. On the large ceiling I varied my tulips. As I returned before the ofﬁcial opening, however, I saw with disgust that someone had muted,-sobered-the burning red color with a gray spray. The scaffolding had disappeared; helpless, I stood underneath, no longer able to climb the height in order to reach my work. Furiously, I began to curse. Suddenly, someone was standing next to me, sympathizing with my indignation. It was Erich Heckel, who at that time was still employed by Kreis. We happily discovered a restless similarity in our strive for freedom, for an unconventional art which was forever storming forward That is how I joined the "Briicke" organizaiton ..... ” 41 was fascinated with every aspect of life; the urban as well as the rural but in later years

would concentrate heavily on the natural world as his preferred subject . This would

transport him, for prolonged periods, to the far-lying regions of primitive civilizations. In

"Zu neuen Arbeiten Max Pechsteins" Fechter writes

Pechstein kennt letzten Endes nur ein Thema seines Werkes: Leben. Was ihn reizt, sind nicht so sehr malerisch bildnerische Probleme, oder eine Umschreibung einer begrifflichen Weltbetrachtung, als der ganz einfache, ganz natiirliche Uberschuss seines Lebensgeﬁihls.27

This interest in the multifarious segments of life may be ascribed to Pechstein's youth; he

was born into poverty and developed during adulthood a very keen sense of the realities of

the world.28 The group--the majority of whom were born into affluent families-reaped the benefits of Pechstein's experience and applied this knowledge to their art. Pechstein, in his 1912 painting Dancing by the Lake (Figure 5), depicted figures

male and female, engaged in a capricious celebration of life and nature. The work is executed in a free, almost haphazard manner with very little spatial perspective, quite reminiscent of Heckel's Bathers, while the expressive juxtaposition of the ﬁgures unites with the surrounding landscape to create an harmonious plane of movement. Whitman

wrote, in "A Song of Joys" O to bathe in the swimming-bath, or in a good place along the shore, To splash the water! to walk ankle-deep, or race naked along the shore.

O to realize space! The plenteousness of all, that there are no bounds, To emerge and be of the sky, of the sun and moon and ﬂying clouds, as one with them.29

27 Paul Fechter, "Zu neuen Arbeiten Max Pechsteins", Die Kunst und das schb‘ne Heim 14, (1920, 219-20. “Pechstein ultimately knows only one theme within his work: Life. What excites him is not so much the sculptural problems or the transcription of an out-look on life as much as the simple, natural overﬂow of his feelings.”

28 Wolf-Dieter Dube, trans. Whittall, The Expressionists, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), 85. 29 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 206. 42

FIGURE FIVE DANCING BY THE LAKE, 1912 43 Pechstein spoke of his ﬁrst experience with plein-air painting in Erinnerungen:

..... konnte ich zum ersten Male ans Meer reisen und mich einen ganzen Sommer lang meinem freien Schaffen hingeben. Meine Wahl ﬁel auf N idden an der Kurischen N ehrung. 30

Nidden proved an excellent choice for Pechstein; he could immerse himself in the beauty of the sea and landscape and also satiate his desire to live among the Einheimische (local residents). He described N idden and the surrounding area as

...eine wundervolle Landschaft mit ihrem harten Menschenschlag, dem der Fischerberuf einen eigenen Typ gegeben hatte.-3l

In 1911 Pechstein executed Beach at Nidden (Figure 6). This work reflects his fascination for the inhabitants of the village and combines the elements of nature into a powerful composition. There is an almost wild excitement in the rendering of waves washing upon the beach as well as in the figures, which appear to possess an appendage- like quality; as if they were an extension of the sea itself. The painting exudes an emotional intensity, achieved by long brushstrokes and violent color, which is seldom found in the works of Pechstein. This intensity may also be attributed to Pechstein's involvement within the community and the opportunity it presented; to bring life-literally-to his subject mattter through daily participation as a member of a specific society. As he wrote in

Erinnerungen....

Wenn einem Fischer eine Hand fehlte, ging ich mit hinaus und half das Fahrzeug und die Netze bedienen. Meist Sonntag abends um sechs Uhr schlug die Flotte los, mit Proviant ﬁir cine Woche verschen. Sonnabends waren wir

30 Max Pechstein, Erinnerungen, (Wiesbaden: Limes Verlag, 1960), 34—5. “ ...... for the ﬁrst time I could travel to the sea and for an entire summer devote myself to my creativity. I chose Nidden on Kur Nehrung.”

31 Ibid., 35. “ ..... a wonderful landscape, with its own race of toughened people; a unique type of person which is born of the ﬁshing profession.”

FIGURE SIX BEACH AT NIDDEN, 1911 LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART. LOS ANGELES 45 zuriick. Den Fang verkauften wir auf dem Haff an Iisch—héindler?’2

We may consider Pechstein's proletarian background in relation to his afﬁnity for the

common man, as in the case of Whitman. A parallel may be drawn here which unites artist

and poet, as Whitman wrote in "Song of Myself"

The boatrnen and clam—diggers arose early and stopt for me, I tuck'd my trowser-ends in my boots and went and had a good time; You should have been with us that day round the chowder-kettle.33

In the last week of spring, 1913, Pechstein left Europe for the South Sea islands of

Palau.34 He had long dreamt of such an opportunity to travel--as Gauginnto exotic areas

of the world where he could paint the beauty of nature and societies unspoiled by

technology. This desire for a perfect society was a manifestation of his Utopian

philosophy regarding the coexistence of man and nature. I’m Erimrerungen Pechstein

described the sentiment that was the driving force behind his journey

In Hongkong, wo ich das Schiff wechseln musste, begegnete ich dem Beamter. Er, der Hiiter des Siidseparadieses, war auf einer Urlaubsreise nach Europa unterwegs. Ein Geriicht war ihm zu Ohren gekommen, dass ein Maler dorthinfahre. Abgehetzt stand der Mann - seinen N amen habe ich vergessen - vor mir und beschwor mich, um Gottes willen die Palauer selbst und ihre naturgebundenen Gewohnheiten nicht durch europaische Nichtigkeiten zu zerstt'iren. Ich konnte ihn fiberzeugen, dass von mir in dieser I-Iinsicht nichts Boses zu befiirchten sei, da ich mich ja mit denselben Gefiihlen der Achtung fiir die zu erwartende, unentweihte Einheit von Natur und Mensch nach Palau sehnte.35

32 Ibid., 36-7. “In the absence of a fishing hand, I went out and assisted with the boat and the nets. The fleet usually left Sunday evenings at six o'clock and was equipped with provisions for a week. Saturday evenings we retumed. On the wharf we sold the catch to fish dealers.”

33 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 40.

34 Max Pechstein, Erinnerungen, (Wiesbaden: Limes Verlag, 1960), 54. The exact month of Pechstein's departure is unknown; he simply writes, "Die letzen Wochen des Friihlings".

35 Ibid., 55. “I met the ofﬁcial of Palau in Hong Kong, where I had to change ships. He, the guardian of this South Sea paradise, was on his way to Europe for a holiday. He had heard a rumor that a painter was on his way there (Palau). In a hurry and tired out, he implored me, for God’s sake, not to destroy the Palauers and their primitive customs with European triﬂes. I convinced him that there was no evil to fear from me, as I, with the same feelings of respect, longed for the undesecrated unity of nature and people which Palau had to offer.” 46 Upon his arrival Pechstein described his experience once again in Erinnerungen

Ich sog mich voll Licht und Farbe in der von Menschen nicht verdorbenen N atur.36

Whitman, too, sought to travel the world in search of elusive brotherhood and peace, and in a "Song of Joys" wrote

Oto sailtoseainaship! To leave this steady unendurable land, To leave the tiresome sameness of the street, the side- walks and the houses, To leave you, O you solid motionless land, and entering a ship, To sail and sail and sail!

O to have life henceforth a poem of new joys! To dance, clap hands, exult, shout, skip, leap, roll on, ﬂoat! To be a sailor of the world bound for all ports, A ship itself (see indeed these sails I spread to the sun and air), A swift and swelling ship full of rich words, full ofjoys.37

Whitman traveled extensively within the continental United States but never went abroad.

Through his poetry, however, he transported himself--as his reader-~to destinations which were impossible to reach by horse, train, or ship. Pechstein and Whitman engaged in a romantic search for the Utopian ideal which led the artist to an exotic region of the tropics and the poet to an exotic realm of the imagination. As Pechstein faithfully rendered his new-found Utopia on canvas, so did Whitman transform his everyday world into an

Utopia of written word.

Kirchner was the most complex character of the Briicke group. He was the the motivational force that brought the painters together in Dresden and eventually the destructive power that led to their disbandment in Berlin. The formation of the group's artistic philosophy--which would consume their private lives, as well-—was largely shaped

36 Ibid, 36. “I saturated myself in light and color in a nature unspoiled by people.”

37 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 208. 47 by Kirchner. We may consider him a mystic in his approach to the elements of the universe, i.e. man, nature, etc.33 We must also consider him an artist with a higher ideal-- and higher expectation-of humanity.

Kirchner's stylistic method altered a great deal between the years 1906-1911; by

1912 his style had evolved into quick, broken lines and vibrant color. The use of thick, unmixed paint became the foundation of his work and added to its expressive and emotional effect. In Striding into the Sea (Figure 7), 1912, Kirchner employed hatch lines to denote shape and contour and simultaneously produced a hard, expressive tone which belies the overall serenity of the scene. Two ﬁgures, walking into a sea awash with waves, are in physical contact with one another as well as with the elements of nature. This thematic duality of man and the natural world may be viewed as an inference to the cosmic order of things; all things have their place within the universe and coexist in a state of harmony. The ﬁgures appear to be born of the water and thus reinforce the artist's, and

Whitman's, belief that nature is inherent in man and vice versa. In "Song of Myself“

Whitman speaks of the most forceful element of nature

Sea of stretch'd ground-swells, Sea breathing broad and convulsive breaths, Sea of the brine of life and of unshovell'd yet always—ready graves, Howler and sc00per of storms, capricious and dainty sea, I am integral with you, I too am of one phase and of all phases.39

Within the prevailing harmony of this work there is sufficient evidence to indicate emotions of isolation. The lone figure lying on the beach, head propped in hand, may represent Kirchner's extreme inner feelings of solitude. Intertwined with the pleasure the comraderie of friends afforded him--represented by the male and female figures--the juxtaposition of such contradictory emotion was wielded by Kirchner as a powerful tool in

38 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), 101.

39 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 55. 48

FIGURE SEVEN STRIDING INTO THE SEA, 1912 STAATSGALERIE, STUTTGART 49 the production of his art. In German Expressionist Painting Selz writes on the artist

He wanted his painting to be a vital image of the life of his time, the result of a creative imagination stimulated by the realities of its environment. He wanted to do paintings, he later wrote, similar in feeling to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, ‘the book which became his best friend.’40

And Whitman wrote, in "Song of Myself"

Iamthepoetofthe Bodyand Iamthepoetofthe Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me, The ﬁrst I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate into a new tonque.41

Kirchner was a proliﬁc writer and in December, 1917, wrote to Eberhard Grisebach, with whom he corresponded on a regular basis. In this correspondence Kirchner expounded on the mysticism he sensed within his own art. An excerpt follows:

What you write about art, and creation in general, is easy for me to understand. I also understand what you mean about the artist and philosopher creating their own world. Actually, such a world is only a means of making contact with others in the great mystery which surrounds all of us. This great mystery which stands behind all events and things (sometimes like a phantom) can be seen or felt when we talk to a person or stand in a landscape or when ﬂowers or objects suddenly speak to us. We can never represent it directly, we can only symbolize it in forms and words. Think of it, a person sits across from us and we talk, and suddenly there arises this intangible something which one would call mystery. It gives to his features his innate personality and yet at the same time it lifts those features beyond the personal. If I am able to join him in such a moment, I might almost call it ecstasy, I can paint his portrait. And yet this portrait, as close as it is to his real self, is a paraphrase of the great mystery and, in the last analysis, it does not represent a single personality but a part of that spirituality or feeling which pervades the whole world.42

Whitman's philosophy was based on very similar principals but whereas the poet gave his

40 Peter Selz, German Exprissionist Painting, (Berkley: University of California Press, 1974), 70.

41 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 54.

42 Victor Miesel, Voices of German Expressionsim, (Englewook Cliffs, N.J., 1970), 19. 50 philosophy form in word, Kirchner rendered his interpretation on canvas.

The Street (Figure 8), dated 1913, is one of the artist's most powerful works. The

lines are hard, angular; the color menacing in its dark tonality. In this painting we are once

again drawn into a world of mixed emotion; comraderie vs. loneliness. The female ﬁgures

on the left are in extreme proximity to one another. It is an arduous task to determine the

outline of shape, as the ﬁgures blend into one entity. The interaction between the women is

clearly deﬁned and there exists a sympathetic element of comraderie. The male ﬁgure on

the right is in complete contrast to the female's process of human bonding. He is

completely isolated from the female ﬁgures as well as the ancillary ﬁgures in the

background. May we view this as representation of the disparity of emotion which existed

within Kirchner? Is this not common of the human race, especially in urban centers, to

experience such extreme, intense expression of happiness, sadness, isolation? Such was

the goal of Kirchneruand the Brﬁcke as a group; to give form to their most intense emotion.43 This was the basis of their art: the spontaneous and truthful expression of inner

feeling in relation to the world around them.

In a letter to the American art dealer Curt Valentin, Kirchner wrote

During his studies Kirchner found in a library the Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. This book became his best loved. The great humanity of the American poet became for Kirchner the regular line of his life and in his work he would give something similar to Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. He is as round as one can be with 57 years after a life full of working, ﬁghting for a new art. He always reads this Leaves of Grass, he looks ﬁiendly in this world so full of battle and anxiety and he works on his paintings.44

Such a statement can only validate the argument of an inﬂuence on Kirchner and the

Briicke as a group.

43 Bernard Myers, “Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and die Briicke”, Magazine of Art 15, (1952), 24.

44 This excerpt was taken from Dr. Wolfram Gabler’s dissertation “Kirchner als Illustrator” (Freie Universitat, Berlin, 1988). It may be assumed that Kirchner was speaking of inspiration when he wrote “...the regular line...” According to Dr. Gabler, this is most likely the only text written in English by Kirchner and dates to Spring, 1937. 51

FIGURE EIGHT THE STREET, 1913 THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK 52 The Street reﬂects not only Kirchner's fascination of city life but also portrays the

great fear it instilled in him. Once again we experience the attraction of a stimulating

atmosphere, found in the form of a throbbing metropolis, and the state of loneliness which enveloped him as he walked the street. Selz, in German Expressionist Painting, wrote of

Kirchner

He was aware of the jungle like character of the city, of the threatening streets, buildings, bridges, the mechanical movement of the people. In Dresden, and later in Berlin, he became imbued with a tremendous enthusiasm for the multiple spectacle of metr0politan life...... Unlike the futurists, he did not sing the praises of a mechanized city, because he felt that urban man in his cafe's, night clubs, and cabarets was a puppet of a mechanized society.45

Selz also speaks of Kirchner as ".....he talked about his undefined hopes in loneliness when he looked for a god among men but was unable to find one..."46 Whitman knew these conflicting emotions--love and fear, the attraction and the repulsion of the city-as he wrote in "A Song of Joys"

Yet 0 my soul supreme! Know'st thou the joys of pensive thought? Joys of the free and lonesome heart, the tender, gloomy heart? Joys of the solitary walk, the spirit bow'd yet proud, the suffering and the struggle? The agonistic throes, the ecstasies, joys of the solemn mus- ings day or night? Joys of the thought of Death, the great spheres, Time and Space?47

But there is hope. Kirchner seeks his "god" on the street, in the form of man. According to the philosophy of Whitman and the painter, "God" is to be found within man, as well as in nature (see Ch.II). God exists within all elements of the universe; as Kirchner seeks his

45 Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, (Berkely: Univeristy of California Press, 1974), 101.

46 Ibid., 139.

47 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921 ), 207. 53 god he is, in essence, seeking power within himself. We may look to Whitman for afﬁrmation of this philosophy, as he wrote in "A Song of Joys"

O to struggle against great odds, to meet enemies undaunted! To be entirely alone with them, to ﬁnd how much one can stand! To look strife, torture, prison, popular odium, face to face! To mount the scaffold, to advance to the muzzles of guns with perfect nonchalance! To be indeed a God !48

Kirchner was ultimately successful in the quest for power within himself. At his most despairing moments he was capable of rendering his painting so as to express the fascination, respect and love he felt for his people and surroundings. In "Crossing

Brooklyn Ferry" Whitman wrote

These and all else were to me the same as they are to you, I loved well those cities, loved well the stately and rapid river, The men and women I saw were all near to me, Others the same-~others who look back on me because I look'd forward to them, (The time will come, though I stop here to-day and to-night).49

48 Ibid., 208.

49 Ibid., 182. 54

CONCLUSION

The preceding investigation of the inﬂuence of Walt Whitman on the expressionist

group, Die Briicke, has been a great challenge. The availability of scholarly literature has

rendered veriﬁcation of this thesis topic difﬁcult, at best, and as such has occasioned the

reliance on letters, interviews and personal interpretation as primary methods of research.

In his introduction to Voices of German Expressionism, Miesel offers the

suggestion that the Briicke painters were inspired by the writings of Walt Whitman.

Similarly, in an article on Kirchner published in the Detroit Institute of Arts bulletin Miesel

wrote

..... encourages one to look more closely at Kirchner’s work, to look at it as more than an outburst of either joy or fear or as another instance of what Kirchner’s favorite poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) had in mind when he wrote: “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world34”1

Herbert vaguely insinuates such a possibility may exist but Myers, Graf, Fechter, Duve,

Reidemeister, Gosebruch and countless others proffer neither opinion nor speculation on the subject

In Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Gordon infers that the poem "As Toilsome I wander'd

Virginia's Woods" was a favorite of Kirchner's (see Ch. 111, Footnote 13) but makes no mention of an inﬂuence on the Briicke as a group. I would, however, agree with Gordon at

1 Victor Miesel, “Alpine Imagery and Kirchner’s Winter Landscape in Moonlight”, Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts Vol. 66 No. 4, 1991, 14-15. Miesel’s footnote 34 reads as follows... “Whitmanmania is a term that has occasionally been used for the enthusiasm Germans had for the poet’s Leaves of Grass. Kirchner not only praised the American writer as comparable to the much admired German modern Georg Heym but went so far as to insist ‘Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was my guiding light in my youth and still is today’. Whitman’s vehement joie de vivre, his self- assertion and self-contradiction included a celebration of sensuality that was very important to Kirchner.” 55 this juncture; the poem would have appealed to Kirchner insofar as the topic is based on comraderie:

As toilsome I wander'd Virginia's woods, To the music of rustling leaves kick'd by my feet (for t'was autumn), I mark'd at the foot of a tree the gave of a soldier; Mortally wounded he and buried on the retreat (easily all could I understand), The halt of a mid-day hour, when up! no time to lose--yet this sign left, On a tablet scrawl'd and nail'd on the tree by the gave, Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.

Long, long I muse, then on my way to go wandering, Many a changeful season to follow, and many a scene of life, Yet at times through changeful season and scene, abrupt, alone, or in the crowded street, Comes before me the unknown soldier's gave, comes the inscription rude in Virginia's woods, Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.2

There are several elements in this poem which relate directly to Kirchner and the Briicke but most signiﬁcant are Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade and the reference to isolation (abrupt, alone, or in a crowded street). Lloyd’s comprehensive study on the role of primitivism in German Expressionist painting strengthens my hypothesis. Her research on the artists relationship to nature is indictive of the importance of the natural world as a basis of the Expressionists’ -- and Whitrnans’ -- philosophy.

In December, 1993, I was invited to Gaienhoffen, Germany, by Mr. Hans

Geissler. Mr. Geissler is the executor of the Heckel estate and conﬁrmed that Heckel owned one copy of Leaves of Grass in translation, Grashalme, and read it with geat enthusiasm. This book was lost in 1944, during the bombing of Berlin and, according to

Mr. Geissler, was never replaced. Dr. Wolfram Gabler graciously shared with me information from his dissertation "Kirchner als ﬂlusuator", (Freie Universitat, Berlin,

1988). Dr.Gabler maintains Kirchner owned no less than three translations of Leaves of

2 Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, (New York: Modern Library, 1921), 348. 56 Grass and one copy of the original English text. In a letter to the art dealer Curt Valentin,

dated April 17, 1937, Kirchner wrote

Walt Whitman, der grosse Dichter war mir Leiter und Fuhrer in der Anschauung des Leben; in der gauen Zeit der Not und des Hungers in Dresden waren die Grashalme mein Trost und Anspom und sind es heute noch.3

I must stand by my conviction of Whitman's inﬂuence on the Briicke painters;

the available literature, interviews and my interpretation of various poems--when analyzed

within the context of select paintings--lend credibility to this hypothesis. The appearance of

Leaves of Grass in Germany prior to 1900 has also been established which proves the

accessibility of this work to the artists. The Briicke were a group in revolt; in the shadow

of the traditional academies they forged a new art to nourish their emotional needs, as Whitman overcame the intellectual pharisees of America to nourish the spiritual needs of

others. How they would develop individually after the disbandment of the group was

contingent on their experience together. Thus, both poet and painters shared in a common

experience, a comraderie. The last poem in Leaves of Grass reads

Dear friend, whoever you are, here, take this kiss, I give it especially to you--Do not forget me, I feel like one who has done his work--I progess on, The unknown sphere, more real than I dreamed, more direct, darts awakening rays about me-—So long! Remember my words-J love you--I depart ﬁ'om materials I am as one disembodied, triumphant, dead.

3 “The geat poet Walt Whitman was guide and leader in regard to my life philosophy; in the gray time of need and hunger in Dresden the Leaves of Grass was my comfort and encouragement and still is today....” This letter was written in the same period as the letter cited in Chapter III, footnote 43. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

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