Saturday Morning Art 101 Class at LACMA

On Saturday morning I attend an Art 101 class offered by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This class, like the one I took the week before was given by Mary Lenihan, Director of Adult Programs at the museum.

This class was on the German Expressionists of which LACMA has a good sampling on the South sidie of the 2nd floor of the Ahmanson Bldg.  The term, "German Expressionists," refers to a group of artist from around Europe who worked in Germany from the early 1900's to the 1930's.  Most were members of a group called "De Brucke" (The Bridge)  in Dresden and later in Berlin.  The artists' use of bright colors identifies the influence of Van Gogh, Matisse, and the Fauvists ("Wild Beasts") they were called because of their wild use of bright colors).

One of these painters was Wassily Kandinsky, Russia, 1866-1844, who began his career in Munich where he co-founded the avant-garde artist group Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider).

Beginning in June, LACMA will be opening a new temporary exhibit:  "Expressionism in Germany and France from Van Gogh to Kandinsky."  We saw a preview of this exhibit in the class as some of the paintings in the permanent collection will be featured along with others from other collections.

Here is a bit of what I saw on Saturday morning:

"Cows in the Lowland," 1090 by Emil Nolde, Denmark, 1867-1956, active in Germany

"Portrait of a Girl/Still Life with Fern," 1919-20 by Max Pechstein, German, 1881-1955

"Sunlight," 1921 by Max Pechstein

"Two Nudes in a Room," 1914 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Germany, 1880-1938

"Two Women," 1911-12/1922 by Kirchner

"Standing Figure," 1924, stained wood, by Albert Muller, Switzerland, 1897-1926

"Sunday in the Alps," 1922 by Kirchner 

"Russian Lovers," 1908, Bronze, by Ernst Barlach, Germany, 1870-1938

"The Fluteplayer," 1936 by Barlach

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"Anger," 1920 by Hans-Siebert von Heister, Germany 1888-1967

"Sign," 1925, oil on cardboard, by Wassily Kandinsky, Russia, 1866-1944, active Germany and France.

"Apocalyptic Landscape," 1913 by Ludwig Meidner, Germany, 1884-1966

"God the Father Hovering," 1922, plaster, by Barlach

"Variation VII," 1906 by Alexei von Jawlensky, Russia, 1864-1941

"Untitled Improvisation III," 1914 by Wassily Kandinsky